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Topic: Forgotten Realms: The Unsung Heroes
Subject: Falling rose petals in the night
“That was unexpected,” Aelistae mouthed quietly as bells were rung, speeches were made and red roses fell from the sky. The drow priestess knelt to pick up a flower that had fallen by her feet. The thorns on its stalk made it difficult to hold, and its petals fell apart in her hands. But the innocent beauty of the flower and the sweet smell it gave was so different to the ugly lichens and mushrooms that were cultivated by the drow of the Underdark.
‘So soft and fragile, and yet worth so much for the short time its beauty lasts,’ she mused after raising a rose petal to her nose and inhaling its scent deeply.
Aelistae violet eyes fell upon Bart standing upon a stage in the bailey of the Keep. The transformation in him was remarkable. He no longer seemed as a shy and timid farmer, but as a leader of his people. And as he spoke beneath a frieze of the battle of which Aelistae had been a part, he sounded like it too.
“Light of Starspire,” Aelistae repeated with a smile and a shake of her head after Bart had invited her and others inside. “Well I suppose it’s better than being called a ‘cavern crawlin’ spider-bitch worshippin’ negrelf.’”
“I think we should follow” she added to Linnix, who was still by her side, “if only because of the kindnesses he has shown us. And so that we can say our goodbyes.”
---
There were, however, few goodbyes said. Bart revealed that Intella had chosen to move on, and, more surprisingly to Aelistae, that Artanis had done the same. Elendil indicated that soon she would be on her way. And Bronwyn too seemed reluctant to stay. But as for Aelistae, after all that was said, and all that was promised, she could not find the will to say ‘farewell’.
“You have been given a patch of dirt, and you would make it a paradise,” Aelistae found herself saying in response to Bart’s offer. “To take in the homeless and give them new hope; to patrol the land and take in the lost, the hurt and those caught in the teeth of cold; to promote harmony between all races – elf, human, gnome and drow. It’s what the Dark Lady teaches, and I can’t walk away from that even though…even if, I wanted to.”
The Eilistraeyn priestess slipped from her wooden chair, and sauntered over to where Bart waited with a cloak in his hands.
“I’m not sure I’ll do justice to what you would have me do, and there is something that may take me away from here for a time. But I honoured to accept your offer Bartholomew James.”
Aelistae’s eyes fell to the heraldic symbol woven into the deep forest green of the cloaks. A large, noble beast, that she had seen flying from the pennants of Darromar and Castle Tethyr, held a single red rose in its talons.
‘I suppose I am now a single petal on that flower,’ she thought, as her right hand caressed the fragrant rose petal she had picked up earlier.
Posted on 2008-12-28 at 18:27:14.
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Topic: end of the world, or 5th dimension?
Subject: ...
It does say something for the state of mental health in some parts of the globe, that people keep on predicting the world would end. 
I take it predictions of fairies being real and pink, flying elephants materializing out of the ether are out of season?
Posted on 2008-12-27 at 14:01:47.
Edited on 2008-12-27 at 14:02:55 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: The Unsung Heroes
Subject: A familiar antipathy...
[Quite a big backpost, in response to Bronwyn:]
A sudden shriek interrupted Aelistae’s efforts to activate the thin, magical wands she carried and heal the broken bones and torn flesh of her companions. It was not hard to decipher the words that followed. Aelistae had heard it all before – ‘baby snatcher’, ‘witch’, ‘murderer’ – and when she looked over her shoulder towards the source of that shriek, she was not surprised to find the same words spoken all over again.
“I am drow,” she shouted back towards the young, panicked woman, “but I mean you no harm. I follow the Moon and the Light and if that means nothing to you, let me tend to your companion and prove that I mean no ill will.”
Her wand crumbled to ash in her hands after she healed the last of Xaris’ wounds. But she had another, and she held that aloft as she walked slowly towards the woman and the man she cradled in her arms.
Posted on 2008-12-26 at 22:07:51.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
I don't know what's so complicated about it. There's a week (a tenday?) between the battle ending and the Queen-Monarch's visit and ceremony. So Elendil has all that time to talk to Aelistae if she wants to.
Posted on 2008-12-26 at 20:30:56.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
Up to you really. 
If you want Talus to see her, then make it so (as Captain Picard might say).
Posted on 2008-12-26 at 15:28:39.
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Topic: Emybear is back!!!
Subject: ...
Welcome back.
Posted on 2008-12-23 at 19:05:18.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: The Unsung Heroes
Subject: Coming to a decision...
Warm laughter trickled over to where Aelistae was sitting in the courtyard. The festivities had gone on for hours, and only ended in stages when the dancing ceased, the music stopped and the guests drifted away. There were still men and women sharing jokes and casual flirting, but the waitresses that had made the festivities possible lingered at the edges, almost as if they were trying to shoo their troublesome patrons away with a single, stern glance.
Aelistae, for her part, had long since left their company. She sat alone in a darkened corner of the bailey, her fingers tracing an intricate pattern over an even more intricate flute that rested upon her lips. The music that emerged, however, was bittersweet. Long, aching gaps separataed each note, and, when it appeared as if the tone of the tune may change for the better, the sound abruptly ceased.
“Tangis' lil ssinsuural kluthak noamuth xuileb dos…,” Aelistae murmured quietly, reliving for a moment the memories of the one night she had spent with Nash. Her hands picked up a small, silver cross that lay by her side. It belonged to the human, and the smooth, worked metal of it was all she had to remind herself that that one night had not been some blissful dream.
“Oh, that’s right pretty that is.”
Aelistae’s eyes darted upwards. A matronly woman stood before her whom she recognized as Norah - the cook that Bart had taken on among his staff. The rosy tint to her cheeks betrayed the fact that she plunged too deeply into the wine that had been on offer.
“Sorry?” Aelistae replied, after rising to her feet and trying to sway out of the way of the woman.
“That cross, it’s lovely it is. My William gave me something like that back before the War – Gods rest his soul. He was a good lad, William, a bit slow like, but he had a really big…”
“Umm…right,” Aelistae interjected quickly.
“But mark my words, Dearie, the man who gave you that is a keeper. Why I’d march across the Nine Hells if it meant I had just one more chance to see my poor William, and one more chance to relive the time we spent together.”
Aelistae wore a puzzled expression as she excused herself from the inebriated cook’s presence. The more she thought about what she had said, however, the more she realized how right she had been.
----
It was sometime later that Aelistae emerged again into the cool summer night. She was dressed in leathers and a coat of mithril armour, and carried the same bow and sword she had used in journeying to the keep. The only difference to how she had appeared on the road was the silver cross that now hung by a thread around her neck.
Aelistae inched up the battlements of the Keep, fully intending to scale down the walls and slip away under cover of night. But when she had clambered up the walls, she found Linnix, already perched there.
“What are you doing here?” Aelistae managed to say, after overcoming her initial surprise.
[*“Even the music seems empty without you…”]
Posted on 2008-12-23 at 16:17:15.
Edited on 2008-12-24 at 21:35:23 by Ginafae
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Topic: I'll be home for Christmas... so I won't be here
Subject: ...
Merry Christmas etc. Hope you have a good time.
Posted on 2008-12-21 at 20:25:30.
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Topic: Gestalt Game Tabletop
Subject: Eep...
Having that much knowledge on how to munchkin a character has got to be unhealthy. 
Posted on 2008-12-21 at 20:24:33.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
We still don't know what (if anything) we'll get as loot, but I was wondering if others would agree to keeping a share of the loot as 'party gold'? So, for instance, rather than dividing 500 gold 4 ways, we'd divide it 5. The 100 gold that goes into the party coffers would be used for raising dead, other healing costs, party consumables etc.
Posted on 2008-12-21 at 07:25:54.
Edited on 2008-12-21 at 09:22:06 by Ginafae
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Topic: Some Secrets are Best Left Buried...
Subject: A not so warm reception...
It was quiet. The streets of Filwood were so devoid of life, that Neri wondered for a moment whether the lights they had seen glimmering in the distance were not some elaborate illusion. It was only as they entered the dark, ramshackle inn, that she saw any proof that there was life in the village still.
It seemed as if the whole of the small town were gathered in its confines, huddled over bowls of hot broth or pitchers of warm, syrupy bear. Their eyes were cast downwards, almost as if they were kneeling before an altar in prayer. A few did raise their eyes as Neri and her companions entered, but those that did turned subtlely in their seats, making it clear that the outsiders were not welcome.
‘Not the warmest of receptions…’ Neri thought to herself, noticing that Shianna seemed to have the same thought. The woman inched towards the paladin of Oriana, her eyes wide in, what looked like, fear.
“It’s alright,” Neri whispered to her as she gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
They took a seat at the table, and the waitress that approached seemed as bubbly and vivacious as the people themselves were devoid of it.
“She’ll have the ale,” Neri corrected after Shianna ordered some water. “It’s safer to drink than water,” she added quietly by way of explanation, before turning to the waitress. “I’ll have some stew and ale too.”
As the woman took the orders of her companions, the paladin gave Isaac a rub on the knee. “So,” she murmured quietly to him, her lips dangerously close to his ear, “is this town always this exciting?”
Posted on 2008-12-19 at 14:42:47.
Edited on 2008-12-19 at 14:43:05 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
No I didn't change that part. She should still see Aelistae there.
I thought DM's last post was referring to a time when he had gathered together again after performing funeral rites, fetching horses etc. After I noticed she was referring to an earlier moment, I deleted that part.
But it should be self-explanatory by reading through her post(s).
Posted on 2008-12-18 at 22:03:04.
Edited on 2008-12-18 at 22:33:36 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
Sorry for bringing this up. But, given the amount of posts, it seems I wasn't the only one who was thinking about it.
Just to make it clear, I think Atharam and his followers would receive a full share. Aelistae has seen the sacrifices they made to liberate the keep, and it was their initial move that provided the opportunity for the assault.
If Bronwyn had tactfully asked, it would have been difficult to refuse too, as her contribution with her magic was invaluable.
But for Elendil to do so, is frustrating. The first thing that our characters saw her doing was looting (call it 'gathering evidence' if you will, but it's still looting). When asked to explain she responded by in a rude and haughty manner. When confronted she walked off in a huff without further explanation or apologies. And then when we're all gathered again she demands a share of the loot because she fired one arrow. I resent the implication that what I did in Aelistae's post was metagaming, as there are plenty of in character reasons for her acting as she did.
Anyway, I look forward to your post Chris, and the matter being resolved.
Posted on 2008-12-18 at 06:59:03.
Edited on 2008-12-18 at 07:29:33 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
Oh I did (or have tried to). Aelistae's attitude is based on what Elendil has done ic.
But anyway, that was just my thoughts. If you disagree that's fine.
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 20:13:05.
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Topic: Buried Secrets Q&A
Subject: ...
Aww, but she's a cute puppy...with the tendency to eat little children and rotting zombies...
I mean what's not to love?
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:46:03.
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Topic: a holiday gift
Subject: ...
Just had a peek at the card, and yeah it looks awesome. 
It was a great idea.
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:38:25.
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Topic: Buried Secrets Q&A
Subject: ...
Yeah I figured that people would be getting uber-busy in the run up to Xmas. (especially those with kids).
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:37:23.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: DM's post...
I try and avoid criticisms of players in the q/a, but I have to say DM that I wasn't impressed with your last post.
I just want to make 2 small points regarding Elendil's demand for a share of the loot.
1) Chris stated yesterday to Jozan, Reralae and I that Elendil and Bronwyn would be getting separate rewards. So effectively what you're asking for is a greater reward than any other player.
2) Frankly Elendil contributed least to the battle. If we discount her 'friendly fire' incident, she was active 2 rounds out of 12 or 14 (something like that). So by that logic she deserves 1/6 or 1/7 of the reward that Talus or Dylan or any others would receive.
And that's it. Again I try not to be critical, but well I can't help it this time. Sorry if what I'm writing above hurts you.
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:30:56.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: Names etc...
I think Starspire Refuge is really good too.
And I like 'Lights of Starspire'. It sounds suitably heroic and uplifting (at least to me).
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:26:04.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: The Unsung Heroes
Subject: The end, or a new beginning?
The fire licked slowly at her dark, sable skin. It caressed the soft contours of her flesh like a lover, raged around her head like a fiery halo, but barely seemed able to leave a mark. She was still the frighteningly beautiful and proud drow Aelistae had seen hovering above the keep several hours before. Her frame was ennobled with elegant curves that few surface dwellers would ever think possible in an elf, and her mouth, even in death, was graced with lush, full lips.
As Aelistae looked at her, and stared into the fire, she could not help but see herself.
”Where are you taking me?”
There was no answer. Just the quiet whisper of the wind, the soft kiss of the gauze covering her face, and the insistent tug of the rope binding her wrists.
She was led on until her feet felt numb and she half-thought she was a ghost floating aimlessly through the world. But then the tug on the rope ceased, and the hand on her shoulder told her that she had arrived. The cloth slipped from her eyes, and the drow woman – little more than a girl – was left blinking in the moonlight.
A woman swam into view through the silvery stars that danced before her eyes. As her vision cleared, she found that she recognized that face. She was drow and naked, her white hair hanging well past her hips. She moved closer, and her half-blind eyes saw that every contour of her flesh was covered in evening dew. They sparkled in the moonlight like stars against her skin.
She stared at her for a moment, staring down with eyes that reflected the light like twin crescent moons. Her fingers brushed a hilt of a sword speared into the earth, each digit, it seemed, dancing around the leather-wrapped hilt.
“You have a choice to make my daughter,” she said at last. “Do you return to the world and life that you have lived or re-write your fate and make yourself into something better than you ever were?”
“You would…let me go?” Her voice was hesitant, fearful even, but it caused the wildly beautiful woman before her to pause in thought nonetheless.
“I would. But would you return? Even if I had the power to make everything the way it was, to restore all that it is you have lost, would you go back?”
“Or would you stay with us? Would you dare to dream of a world where you can walk the streets without fearing an assassin’s dagger in your back. A dream where your friends – real friends – want nothing more from you than the pleasure of your company, that your sisters cherish your accomplishments instead of resenting your successes, and your children are not murdered for accidental failings. A dream where your lovers seek you out for who you are, and not your station or your influence. A dream where your goddess asks you to celebrate her with your joy, not your terror. Would you choose that dream?”
“Yes,” she answered fearfully. “But…but I don’t know how.”
“Rise into the Light, Aelistae D’Vrann,” the woman murmured with a smile, “and I will show you.”
“And I have dreamt,” Aelistae spoke before the fire and the slowly burning body of her drow adversary. “I have dear friends who are surfacers. I have a Goddess that loves me. And I have loved…tasted true love….”
Her voice faded into a wistful whisper. Tears hovered in her eyes as she thought back to Nash. Someone who she had dared to love, and who now, it seemed, so desperately needed her help.
“It was the dream that divided us, Khalil,” she continued, summoning the strength to tear herself away from her maudlin thoughts. “I just wish that you had been able to live it too.”
----
[During the week:]
She had not intended to go out for so long. Night had long since fallen, and several times Aelistae could have pursued creatures to help feed the humans working diligently at the Keep. And yet, when she had come across the pair of hares, or the boar or the doe, she felt something stay her hand. Something, at the edge of her psyche, that tugged her onwards.
So she kept on going, until the birdsong lulled, the world was bathed in deep shadow and the moon inched up the night sky.
A sudden roar startled her. It was not from an animal, but the reverberating chorus of a waterfall. And it was beautiful. It shimmered gloriously in the dark like a veil of falling stars, and pooled into a glade afire with moonlight.
Aelistae entered the glade with soft footsteps, not wanting to disturb the perfect serenity that seemed to reign there, and slipped through the spray of the falling water into a large, hidden cavern.
It was empty. There was no game to be had. But as Aelistae ventured through the waterfall once more and turned to head back to the Keep, she wondered if she had not found something far more valuable.
---
[During the Ceremony:]
Aelistae did not often feel nervous. She had been a born and raised a noble in Menzoberranzen, where any sign of such ‘weakness’ would cause for the lash – or worse. But standing in the Bailey of the Keep that day, before Zaranda Star Rhindaun, and all her court, it was hard for Aelistae to contain her nerves.
Part of it was because she felt uncomfortable without her sword. She had had it for so long, and had wielded it in battle for almost as long now, that she felt strangely naked without it. Or more naked than the thin, sleeveless garment she wore allowed her to be. It had been crafted from spidersilk and left so little to the imagination that it was only the silver embroidery upon it that saved her modesty. The bottom half of the dress was cut so daringly that the midnight black of her smooth legs were largely uncovered.
Part of it was because she was in the presence of a Queen. She was so finely dressed that she almost appeared like a Matron Mother or as the Chosen among the Eilistraeyn. And Aelistae was so unsure what the customs were among Humans when addressing their rulers, that she constantly found herself looking towards Linnix or Atharam to ensure she did not offend her in some way.
Most of it, however, was because of Bart. Aelistae knew how much this meant to the simple, honest man and his family. And she could not help but feel nervous as he was summoned and knelt before Queen Zaranda.
Then it came time for rewards and gifts that Bart and Queen bestowed upon those that aided the farmer in his expedition. All accepted their kindnesses with a nod of thanks or a smile, except Aelistae. She laid a tender kiss upon his cheek instead.
“May the Lady watch over you, and…well show them that even a humble man can re-write his fate.”
Posted on 2008-12-17 at 19:18:58.
Edited on 2008-12-23 at 12:07:58 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: The Unsung Heroes
Subject: A sudden display of affection...
Aelistae tucked the loose portions of her long hair behind her ear once more as she waited for Atharam to digest all that she and others had told him. She needn’t have bothered. Linnix suddenly darted forward, wrapped her arms around the drow priestess’ lithe frame, and caused Aelistae’s hair to spring free once more.
"I... I was worried, Sister," she muttered softly, as silvery hair fell amidst the woman’s blonde locks.
“I’m…I’m alright. And I’m glad you are too,” Aelistae replied. Her hands and voice hesitated only for a moment, taken aback by the human’s sudden exuberance. But eventually they settled upon the small of Linnix’s back, and Aelistae returned the affection the woman had shown her.
“A Eilistraee ‘lamshinae dos zuch orn tlu,”* Aelistae added. She pulled back for a moment, but only to reach for a small, wizened, piece of wood and heal the woman who had become as dear to her as her drow sisters in the Promenade.
[OOC: Will use one her wands of clw to keep zappin Linnix and herself to max (or near max) hp. She’ll then move on and extend the courtesy to the others.
*“By Eilistraee’s grace you always will be.”]
Posted on 2008-12-14 at 21:56:54.
Edited on 2008-12-14 at 22:14:17 by Ginafae
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
Ah, it seems Kaelyn was way ahead of me and did that already. 
But even still she does have 2 wands, one with 28 charges and the other with 27.
Posted on 2008-12-14 at 19:22:56.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: ...
Just noticed one thing I missed on Aelistae's sheet.
She has 2 wands of Cure Light Wounds. One was a wand that Xaris found (back in the ogre cave) with 28 charges, and the other one was formerly Loriel's which had all 50 charges.
Aelistae has used a lot of those charges up, though, and she'll probably use a lot more in healing everyone. I'll try and go back and make a running total of how many charges she's spent.
Posted on 2008-12-14 at 19:20:38.
Edited on 2008-12-14 at 19:21:04 by Ginafae
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Topic: Music
Subject: ...
You get an applaud for Anti-Flag. Awesome band.
Posted on 2008-12-13 at 22:45:18.
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Topic: Forgotten Realms: the Unsung Heroes Q/A
Subject: Tyr, Helm etc.
Oh and don't forget that afterwards Tyr tops himself. ...
*grumbles about Hasbro destroying the face of gaming as we know it...'First Tyr, and then the world!'...*
Posted on 2008-12-13 at 21:03:54.
Edited on 2008-12-13 at 21:04:40 by Ginafae
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