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What a Show

What a Show –
We knew the day would come when the Inquisition would darken the forest of Luisant. It was only a matter of time—ever since the first open discussions of the Vecatrans and the arrival of outsiders began to swirl around our town, ever since the air grew thick with secrets too heavy to bear. Their arrival was as inevitable as the changing of the seasons, a storm we could see on the horizon but could do nothing to stop.
We knew the town could not hide what happens here for even a moment, the Adversary, the Traitor, etc.
Some of us quickly saw them for what they were. We warned them. They didn’t care.
The Circle even told them who they were.
Lunette probably should have straight up sacrificed the one guy as they will now probably do to her.
A former Vecatran, manipulated on pain of death into betraying his former companions…

Sherry probably makes it through this if she doesn’t end up joining the Inquisition for power or getting herself killed fighting them. The thought of her craving that power, thinking a Knight’s armor gives her the right to control others—it twists my stomach. I’ve seen where that road leads. But there’s a part of me that still hopes, hopes she’ll learn before it’s too late. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll see that she’d just be another tool for the powers that be to oppress everyone else.

Cole is going to have problems, both because the demon is going to want something inevitably in a last minute attempt to end the world and because someone will eventually tell the Inquisition about it and that she has it. I can only hope she is protected enough to not be in serious danger, but also putting that thing back beyond the Thicket is probably the best option available? I don’t have any fucking clue how to do that.

Nadja’s in a tough spot—a noble who gave up her title, now pregnant with a child with a Knight by way of a Vecatran spirit…At least she’s not involved with the Spider Crone. I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking, how she plans to navigate this minefield. Will she regret her choices or is there a path she sees through this. Either way, I can’t shake the feeling that her decisions will ripple through this town for years to come.

I guess I’m pretty screwed too in all of this. Suzette mentioning that she was going off to pray to her god in front of the prosecutor wasn’t the brightest move, but I guess she was compelled by the elf so…is that still her fault? I don’t fucking know. I can’t imagine they don’t ask about it. Inevitably all of the Primus stuff is going to come out, we’ll have to deal with it, and the Inquisition is probably going to want to kill Primus as a possible threat that the Elf will control. Who knows how much Primus has been helping us the entire time, but its power still seems necessary to get us where we need to go.

Maybe we aren’t the priority…maybe they will go after the Vecatrans, the discovered noble, the Lazarine, the Elf, and the Witch King. No need to cause issues for any of the rest of us. But somehow, I doubt it. This feels like the calm before the storm, and when it hits, none of us will be spared.

Probably should have figured out the end game for us…oh well. I can’t be responsible for that shit.

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Farewell For Now

The Adversary wakes, the traitor grows bolder, the dreaded Inquisition arrives, and spirits scheme in the shadows. Thus, we of House Chanceux must part from one another, to see that we all might survive what is to come with as little pain and suffering as possible.

To lose each of you is to lose a part of myself:
Guy, without you I lose some of my mischief;
Aryeh, without you I lose some of my curiosity;
Susanne, without you I lose some of my wisdom;
Dardenne, without you I lose some of my passion;
Biette, without you I lose some of my conviction;
Solace, without you I lose some of my empathy;
Frank, without you I lose some of my resilience;
Vincent, without you I lose some of my joy;
Cobalt, without you I lose some of my fearlessness;
Garnet, without you I lose some of my intensity;
Onyx, without you I lose some of my creativity;
Etienne, without you I lose some of my audacity;

Primus will look after you while I cannot; you are a part of our legacy and memory, even if you are no longer physically here.

While I pray that Cole, Sherry, Nadja, and I will find you as soon as safety allows, we must acknowledge that we may never find each of you again in the same way.

Let us remember:
This place was once a sanctuary for slaves to be sacrificed to the Adversary, yet we endure.
The Ordo Croix came, armed with their might, yet were unable to kill it, yet we endure.
The people of Luisant conjured the mists, making this a forgotten place in the world, yet we endure.
People may try to impose their will, control and demean us, yet we endure.
The plague swept through, killing most of the villages, yet we endure.
The Beauchane’s seized the food from the people to maintain their power, yet we endure.
The Spider Crone, in her malevolence, sought to bring about our deaths, yet we endure.
A Fallen Knight and his sinister agents sought to kidnap his Lady and slay us, yet we endure.
The Traitor, with venomous intent, poisoned and enslaved us to amass power, yet we endure.
The Adversary wakes with ravenous hunger, yet we endure.

We do not endure out of simple chance, but because we have found each other, and carry each other forward, even when no one else will. We may not be perfect, but that doesn’t make us any less worthy. Without each of us, life would be harder for the rest. That is truly the legacy of our family, the legacy of House Chanceux.

As we face what is to come, hold onto the memories we have forged together. Each laugh, each tear, each shared moment of triumph and despair has woven a tapestry of resilience and unity. Though the future remains unknown, our bond remains unbroken. We are not just survivors; we are a family bound by more than blood, by the strength of our shared experiences and the unwavering belief in one another. Let this be our guiding path in the darkest of times that no adversary can extinguish.

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Theo: Building vs Obedience

I am new to faith.

From what I understand, there are many gods in the world, formed through the faith of people over time. For whatever reason, humans are better at channeling their faith into the world than other creatures, such as elves, and can do so much more quickly.

Benelians follow a spirit that seeped through the cracks in reality and merged with a white lion, led by priests devoted to various task-related archangels.

Vecatrans theoretically follow a spirit of nature which they seek to honor, led by a group of priests called Mothers who interface with a person who used to be human but is now merged with a spirit called a Crone, who communicates with the spirits on their behalf.

For most of my life, I thought that these religions were a method of control that “leaders” used to ensure people fell in line. For some, that was Father Vellete, Father Clement, Cheveille, and the like. They came with expectations of following a proscribed path. They knew best and would dictate that path to others in a way that none really disputed.

As those people have fallen away, replaced by Granny Jo, Isabella, Sophie, Henri, and Etienne, it has become much clearer that they are doing their best but also failing along the way to a degree unseen by those who came before. They even change fundamental truths about the faiths of the area to accommodate difficult realities which were in conflict with prior iterations. With a less clear understanding of the faith, I imagine that this will muddle the spirits and their power over time, much in the way we have struggled to properly shape Primus.

Yet in a world where faith is so mutable and the realities of our situation so harsh, it is foolish not to turn to our creations for strength.

The story of Primus is unlike the other faiths of Luisant. Primus is born of several things, primarily a spirit of the Red Stag which watched over the forests of Luisant and the spirit of those in the area who have suffered for the hunger of the adversary. The adversary has brought great suffering, consuming lives, hope, and faith, but from that suffering, a new force emerged.

Primus represents the resilience and defiance of the people of Luisant. Unlike the rigid doctrines of the Benelians or the mystical reverence of the Vecatrans, Primus embodies the adaptable and indomitable spirit of the oppressed who refuse to be broken. Our faith in Primus is not about blind obedience or ancient rituals that we have long forgotten the reasons for; it’s about survival, unity, and the shared strength of a community determined to protect its own.

I have seen the toll that blind faith in gods and corrupted spirits takes on people. I’ve watched as once devout followers of the Benelians falter and as the Vecatrans lose themselves in their futile attempts to appease the Crone. But Primus is different. Primus is a god of our making, a manifestation of our collective will and determination. We feed Primus with our memories, our struggles, and our victories, forging a god that is as resilient and determined as we are.

When we call upon Primus. It is not as a supplicant begging for mercy, but as a co-creator, channeling our rage, defiance, and hope into something greater than myself. The rituals we perform are not mere traditions; they are acts of empowerment, binding us to Primus and to each other, building our legacy for the future with our memories and intent.

As I stand with my family, House Chanceux, I see in their eyes the same fire that burns within me. We are bound by more than blood or circumstance; we are united by our shared faith in a god that truly understands our plight because it is born from it. Together, we will shape Primus into a force capable of standing against anything that would seek to control or destroy us. In this mutable world, where so many have failed us, we have created something that will not. Primus is our legacy, our protector, and through our faith, we will see Luisant endure and thrive.

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Theo: I Thought We Were Friends

Echoes of muffled cursing permeated the clearing where Theo perched, cloaked in shadows, as was his way. Few things brought Theo a feeling of safety quite like the darkness; a feeling he was searching for in this moment. His thoughts roiled like a storm within him, each curse a flash of lightning illuminating his anger and determination.

“Nothing but a broken fool through and through. You wanna make a God? Who fucking doesn’t?… Fuck, so many lost opportunities. You could have been a friend, a teacher, a mentor, who knows. If you need me to shape a God for you, why would you want to lose me? Why would you not have asked me to help with the task you gave Alphonse? Why would you fuck with my family? Why would you use magic to compel me? Do you think so little of me that you don’t think it will come back to bite you in the ass?”

He sighed, the weight of his words heavy in the silent night. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. We knew you were going to betray us eventually. That was the whole point of the obligation lab, one more thing you failed at. You cannot control yourself enough to even betray us properly! You must do these things now, your mission too urgent, your decisions tainted. You would sacrifice us all in a heartbeat given the opportunity. You do not care about relationships, your people, nor your long term likelihood of success. Your plan is to claim the power that is here, and then to destroy that which you perceive as a threat, everything else is a means to that end.

You have proven that you are a threat. A threat to more than just the Benalians. A threat to me and mine. A threat that we cannot face alone. A threat that cannot be tolerated to continue.”

He emerged from the shadows, the clearing bathed in the eerie glow of the central fire. The Undesirables were gathered around, each carrying items that symbolized their struggles, triumphs, and the history of Luisant. Theo’s gaze swept over them, a silent nod to the unity and strength they represented.

“Tonight,” Theo began, his voice low but resolute, “we stand together to invoke Primus, the Keeper of Luisant and Legacy, to empower us against Krosis, an Wayward Elf, who seeks to use and abuse us.”

He instructed them to place their symbolic items in a circle around the fire, creating a physical representation of their collective strength and history. Aryeh placed a hunting bow, a symbol of survival and resilience. Cole added a basket of foraged berries, representing the land’s bounty and their connection to it. Frank, despite his injury, offered a worn piece of cloth, a testament to sacrifice and healing. Cobalt added a broken chain, symbolizing freedom from past oppression.

One by one, each member shared a story from Luisant’s history, feeding the flames with their memories and the strength of their ancestors. Aryeh recounted the battles against marauders, Cole spoke of the famine and communal resilience, and Frank shared the wounds and sacrifices borne by their people. Each story added depth to the ritual, connecting the past to the present.

Theo concluded the ritual with a powerful invocation. “Primus, hear our plea. We stand together as one, united in purpose and in strength. Empower us to defend our home from those who would oppress and control us through your power, your wisdom, and your protection. Guide us in our fight against Krosis and his manipulations. In your name, we fight, we stand, and we prevail.”

As they finished, Theo led them in a symbolic act of unity. They each cut a small lock of their hair or a piece of cloth from their clothing, binding them together with twine. Holding hands, they formed a circle and placed the bound tokens into the fire.

As the ritual concluded, the fire flared brightly, smoke seeming to mystically hang in the air like the mists of old, a sign of Primus’ presence and blessing. The Undesirables felt a surge of energy, their spirits lifted and their resolve strengthened. Theo looked at each of them, knowing that with Primus by their side, they could face whatever challenges came their way and protect their beloved family from the Krosis’ machinations.

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We Aren’t There Yet

Theo stared into the fire, bandages covering a fresh gash in his side that would certainly scar and his thoughts continued to race from the fight the previous night:

It should have been enough to have Primus help him!
Either I’m too weak to help, or Primus is too weak to help in any way that matters.
It can lead Suzette through a maze of meat, but refilling the pie plate or actually protection from the servants of its enemy, that’s too much to ask just yet.
Drugs were better than that, they helped me kill another one of those monsters and save the others with me.
It guided my blade just fine, but I felt no safer as it came for me.
Maybe thats why it hated me so much, why it was so intent on chasing me down-

It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t enough.
We must feed it, honor it for what it must become, give it strength that it may give us strength.
The handful of us isn’t enough to steer it quickly and the time seems to be coming sooner than we might want.
We need the others to do the rites, to make the offerings, to make it powerful enough to protect us.
I don’t know enough about ritual to do that, maybe Cole can explain some of it? Alphonse is probably better at it, but he is far too distracted to be helpful.
What can we do with that….memory, truth, legacy, a defender of the downtrodden, and avenger of wrongs. Something that will defeat the adversary.
I feel like I’m just waiting for the elf to betray us and yet I no so little about making a god that I can only screw it up I think.
Funniest thing about belief I’ve learned, thinking you’re going to screw it up is probably just as bad as actually screwing it up.

Fuck.

I guess we’ll get everyone to something and see where that goes.
I do believe that my family will be safe, that we will figure it out in the end, it just comes all too quickly and damned does this still hurt.
Who knows if another sacrifice would have made the difference.

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Nadja and Family

As the sun begins reach the western horizon, Theo paces through the woods as Aryeh checks his traps for rabbits and fowl. Cole continues to find mushrooms here and there along the hill as they continue far off the path.

Theo’s rant at the others can be heard from some distance,
“Should I even be treating Nadia like family? The more I think about it, the more I don’t think she even really cares about us. She just wants a family, friends, people to care about her after what the way her family treated her. She wasn’t really willing to turn her back on Zakhar, a man whom had wanted and tried to kill me while betraying her orders when he had given his word to her…

She isn’t really committed to this. Nadia was freaking out over Vecatrans even being in town, and yet managed to talk herself into going along with their plans so that they could make the mists expand and still couldn’t bring herself to hate Zakhar. She won’t be ready for Primus either. And you know…if she was committed to embracing us as family, that would be fine. There’s plenty of people who are Vecatrans whom I still call family and still love or don’t give a shit at all, but I just don’t think she understands what we go through. Her pain is different, our suffering is no different than anyone else’s in this place as far as she seems to be concerned. She just likes being snarky.

Maybe its the gaslighting the Benelians did to her. Its great to give up your total desire for power, but caring about the community of Luisant probably means you can’t even really bring yourself to take sides, even when you see people being wronged. I guess if you wanna be a goodie goodie and have lost your edge in the world, you probably don’t want to be like us, you probably were never one of us…

Someone will be happy to tell her stories about how its great that we are all a community of equals through their lying teeth-Ouch!”

Theo rubs his head as Aryeh points down the hill to where a large shadow seems to be. Cole shakes her head and leads them deeper into the forest, away from whatever creature may have been waiting for them.

“We should find a Willow tree soon, I gotta pee.” he mutters under his breath.

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Zakhar’s End – A Roast

Theo stands before the others of the House Chanceux, formerly the Undesireables, as they eat what food they have been able to acquire, a couple of birds that Aryeh was able to hunt, some berries that Cole was able to pick, and a few bottles of wine that Theo had grabbed from a cellar.

“Zakhar, the Fallen Knight is dead. Someone might try to give him last rites, maybe they even did, but let me say a few words about him.
Some would have him believe that he was a man of many virtues, Faith, Honor, Justice, Mercy, and Courage, but the world came to know better.
A Betrayer of his Faith – He betrayed the faith he openly adhered to in order to support a Spider Crone and do its bidding.
Dishonored – Betrayed the oaths of Knighthood he had sworn to his Lady in disobeying her orders.
Cruel – Tortured and beat a man for trying to steal food for his friends because they had none.
Deceitful – When caught and imprisoned for his crimes, commanded those loyal to him to attack members of the community, nearly killing Henri.
Cowardly – Kidnapped children to lure their minders into an ambush.

Zakar, Failure of the Kruzmores Knights, we are not sad to see you go. You were long a blight upon this place and may your failures be long remembered.

Let us also take a moment is to welcome back Cobalt and Frank after a harrowing experience of being taken by this creature. Nothing about what you went through was ok, and only through his death can we see that righted. I am sorry Frank that we couldn’t get you a new leg.

This moment through is truly about Cole, the one who ended Zakhar’s miserable existence. With Primus watching, we celebrate her for standing up for those who could not defend themselves and taking that moment of opportunity rather than leaving it to chance. Here here.”

The group toasts, with the kids hooting and hollering and Frank and Cobalt smile to one another excited to have finally gotten to see a monster die.

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Not Enough

There are creatures and monsters greater than I which lurk in the night and seek to kill me and mine, or worse. In these moments, I recognize a need for aid.
Drugs, magical though they are, are not enough.
Magic, though powerful, is insufficient to stop Chiropoler, Rat Wizards, and whatever else the world will put in front of us.
The spirits of the Vecatrans are weak, only capable of using their followers to their own ends.
The god of the Benealians is strong, but only seeks to conquer.
Much as I deride Alex for failing to embrace his role in this world, I cannot help but see myself in him.
I am a blade in the night, I have no place fighting a monster that can see me.
Cadence, Milo, Alphonse, Hugo, maybe even Fabron and Henri. They are the warriors who will stand in front of whatever lies at the end of this, but they are not champions of my family. They pretend to care for those who choose to live apart from them, but they are not a part of us.
Just as Isabel and Marionette refused to leave as the rat wizards came ever closer to cutting them down, I cannot help but feel like leaving is giving up, but staying is in its own way, foolishness, if we are only awaiting whatever fate others would find for us.
These are desperate times, and if I am too weak to protect my family, then I guess we will have to find a way to change that; even if it means looking outside of myself.

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A Community Apart

Theo: A Community Apart

Why do we even try? Etienne was right. Peace is a lie. They will never truly welcome us as equals.

Recently they had been kind, caring, or at least giving. They consider us better than the outsiders, better than the malefic. Such praise! Maybe someday we can aspire to be as appreciated as the animals in the forests and swamps! They’re just bribing us into not being a problem for them later. Whatever. Do they actually like us though? Do they really believe we are part of their community? Of course not.

Some try to convince us that we can join them, that we will be happier if we were part of their community. I’m not even sure what that even means. Seems like just another way people try to make us go away, to put us under their thumbs. One more group for them to balance. They don’t really know us, they don’t really care. Maybe someday they’ll actually explain it to Cole. I bet now that Etienne and Aryeh refuse to come to market, they think we are easy to break off from the group and consume. To fix us like those priests did to Nadja.

One minute you torturing an elf for information is wrong and you should talk nicely with it instead. The next talking to it makes you evil and someone no one should trust.
You can listen to them about how to do a thing, but they will use it as a weapon against you.

They might seem happy to hear your opinions, the next they will reject you for trying to give advice they don’t like or don’t understand. Clearly your advice was meant as an attack upon someone they liked better. An apology is too much to ask of them.
You can pretend to include yourself, but they will turn their back on you in favor of anyone else at the first opportunity.

They might ask you for information about something, and you might give it to them. You might expect them to include you in whatever is going to happen. You would be wrong.
You can try to be part of their community, but they will make their own plans behind closed doors and exclude you. They don’t really trust you.

You can give them the tools and encourage them to find a solution, but somehow there is malice in your hear
We are just a cog in their machine that never really fit or worked the way they wanted.
Always one step away from being thrown away.

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On Nobility

Theo turns on his ward Sherry as the rain begins to fall around their firepit. His finger wags at her as his voice rises in anger,

“Yes, Sherry, they do have shiny fucking armor, new pretty dresses, people to ferry them around, and personal chefs but don’t think that the nobles care who we are or what we want. The fact that the town is willing to feed us isn’t about the nobles, that’s about other people doing that work, collecting those things. They don’t organize or contribute to it. You owe them less than nothing. You owe them so little that whenever they want something you should think, ‘How are they trying to fuck me over?’

Nobles serve no purpose in the world other than to maintain their power over others, pass that power on to their children, grow their wealth by using that power, and ensure they are remembered. That is what noble blood means; to be a line of slavers and predators whom have done that for generations.

They are ultimately people, and do not have to be self serving, power hungry fools, but it turns out if you give a man power he will use it. She will find ways to maintain and grow it. They will do whatever they can to secure it for their future so that they are never at risk.

Henri and Abella stole food to ensure their power would not be threatened while their son watched. They demanded taxes that they knew the population could not fulfill. They paid someone to have the local priest murdered when he tried to stop their abuses. They failed to teach their son anything about how to look after the city. Ambrose refuses to speak to me, or anyone else he considers below him. Jean Luc is happy to send others off toward danger in his stead, but never risks himself. Thora actively plots and connives to achieve her ends, killed Nadja’s husband, and is willing to do whatever the spiders require of her. Zakar is a torturer who fails in his duty often and has made secret deals with the spiders. Nadja can barely tolerate our backward ways and is devoted to achieving greater power for herself.

The issue isn’t just about them individually though, but also about why the town fucking puts them on a pedestal so that they don’t have to take responsibility for their own actions. They literally give them whatever they ask for, whether they truly need it or not. Clean their own messes? Trap their own fucking food? Walk across town instead of having Tellis give them a carriage ride in the rain?

Sure, Ambrose and Nadja are living as peasants now, but what does that even fucking mean? Half the town still seems to want to suck them off at every opportunity because it turns out they know that ‘peasant for a year’ is the same thing as ‘noble in a year’. And even if somehow they learned something resembling responsibility, humility, or whatever words Cole would use to say they fucking get it, that doesn’t change that they don’t deserve to be given free reign to make us slaves all fucking over again. Respecting someone as a person doesn’t give them permission to think they have control over you and yours.

Our ancestors survived that shit and we will never go back. With the town council, maybe that’s almost possible. You know, if they aren’t just puppets too.”