Name: Archaementes
Alias: The Illuminating Mystery
Appearance: Currently takes the form of an effete, young Greek man with brown hair.
Class: Tempisti
Abilities:
*Soul Cast - Can create soul gems from the souls of mortals and use them to power constructs and mighty spells.
*Prodigy (Persuasion)- Despite his (current) appearance, Archaementes are very good at finding ways to wrap others around his finger...
Attributes:
Strength: 4 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 10 Willpower: 10 Perception: 6 Presence: 4
Wealth/Assets: 92 gold and 8 silver.
Power: 30
Current Actions:
0/4 years spent or taking over the bureaucracies of Greek city-states.
Items:
30 Soul Gems
Twin Bronze Swords (Secrecy and Mystery)
Influence: 20
Spy Networks in:
-Greece (4 years until subversive takeover)
-Gaul
-Carthage
-Persia
Devoted Followers
8 Skill 1 Scholarship Followers (Students)
3 Skill 3 Teaching Followers (Teachers)
1 Skill 2 Crafting (Wood) Follower (Wood Crafter)
2 Skill 1 Woodworking Followers (Carpenters)
2 Skill 3 Doctor Followers (Nobles)
3 Skill 1 Fighting Followers (Nobles)
8 Skill 3 Spies
22 Skill 4 Spies
21 Skill 5 Assassins
General Followers
20 Skill 4 Spies
550 general followers
Total number of followers = 640
Family:
Herodias, Female, Age 29 (Wife)
Sophia, Female, Age 9 (Daughter): 5/6 Sindari
Skills:
Grand Master Force Shield
Legendary (14) Persuader
Proficient Teacher
Expert Force Dasher
Master Assassin
Master Cryptographer
Master Force Vibrator
Accomplished Dual Wielder
Accomplished Sudden Death Mark User
Expert Madness Curse User
Archaementes' face reddened with embarrassment as more of his fellow Sindari decried his latest scheme, pointing out the full extent of its failure. Even Rigel seemed to give off a vibe that possibly indicated that he would've turn his Greek bottom into a pincushion had Archaementes been within arrow-flying distance. Finally, it was decided that he would have to make amends for what he'd done. However, gathering the cursed coins is a daunting task as they may have already spread throughout Persia and India by now. However, what he can do is soften the blow by learning how to create a blessing that will grant the affected much fortune. It can be set to leak out of items much like the Madness Curse. Once the blessed items are distributed throughout Persia and India, Archaementes can them find someway to shift the blame to the Atlanteans. Though some of the other Sindari may feel that he's wasting his time, Archaementes disagreed since public opinion is everything whether it pertained to Sindari or Cisharni or someone else. Besides, turning even a tragedy around and into a benefit at the enemy's expense is something that such a mastermind as himself simply can't pass up.
2 years spent teaching Sophia Persuasion.To ensure that his daughter can more successfully complete her tasks in the fight against the Atlantean Empire and their Cisharni taskmasters, Archaementes decided that she needed to become someone who can influence people of differing opinions into seeing her way of things and can turn others against each other whenever necessary. Sure attacking someone's person directly is a quick way to deal with them but such a thing is the only direct course of action for amateurs.
Professionals, however; know that there are more ways to destroy an enemy than cold steel. Indeed, the right words can do a lot more damage than a thousand swords when applied correctly and if the opponent lived to see his great efforts torn by his ex-allies then the victory is much sweeter.
Teaching Sophia about the importance of information, Archaementes stressed the fact that the more that is learned of others' personality, motivations, beliefs, interests, and relationships with others, the easier it is to prod them into a certain course of action. Indeed, persuasion is an art and thus must be tailored to the recipient. For example, a person who is governed by their emotions may not care much for cold logic but their heartstrings can be pulled upon the 'revelation' of a potential tragedy a rival is 'planning' against the ones they love. By obtaining information using such tactics as asking open-ended questions, listening to gossip, or even eavesdropping just to name a few, a skilled persuader can more easier wrap almost everyone around their finger.
Once the basics were firmly taught and tips were dispensed, Archaementes let Sophia join the other children to apply what she'd learned. Though she'd had trouble with some of the children who thought of her as 'being weird', Sophia managed to get the other children to give her gifts of berries and small toys. During this time, Archaementes noticed that Sophia has a knack for swaying others to her side, her presence pulling them in closer to than what should be possible for a child of her age. Perhaps she is more of a missionary than a schemer like himself? He resolved to show her that she can be both. After all, he felt in his heart that she is worthy to lead the Shrouded Dawn should he gets slain in battle against a Cisharni. He has already made the necessary preparations for her to oversee the secret cult co-jointly with him, albeit at a lesser capacity, and to ensure a smooth transition of the leadership should he die.
4 years learning the Good Fortune Spell.Hoping to make up for causing a clusterfuck that made Acter's mistake seem insignificant, Archaementes decided to give the Persian and Indian populaces some form of relief in the form of a blessing as he deducted that gathering the cursed coins was unfeasible, not to mention that their duration will end soon anyway. Sure it won't bring back their dead loved ones but it will help soothe their pain. The masses needed joy, after all. They also needed an outlet for their anger but more on that later.
Gathering whatever the villagers considered to be good luck charms and tokens of fortune, Archaementes mentally focused on the faint energies surrounding the objects, analyzing the tiny threads that extruded into nothingness. Positing that they're actually linked to the favorable portions of causality, possibly through the power of belief or some charm, Archaementes decided that it was more efficient to copy the threads' structural makeup than attempting to replicate whatever force that's flowing into the trinkets via the threads.
Trying on each trinket, Archaementes used his heightened senses to analyze the inner workings of the charms as he flipped a gold coin and gauged their reactions whenever it landed on either side. He found out that of the sides the coin landed on, the charms fired off and caused it to land on the face he'd desired at a certain percentage, with the percentage in question increasing the more power he diverted into them. In fact, Archaementes theorized that if the percentages were high enough, the Good Fortune blessing would be capable of warding off or even curing the Madness Curse itself, However, this would need some field testing. Feeling that he understood the workings of the charms sufficiently, Archaementes begin to copy the charms.
In much of the same way he'd tested the Madness Curse on the rats, he blessed some of their food with the Good Fortune spell. The rats who were affected soon found themselves biting into newly discovered morsels that tasted much better than the rest of the food. However, the experiment wasn't without its annoyances as most of the affected rats had somehow found ways to escape their cages and to savor sweet freedom. Some of them had even found themselves lucky enough to stumble into his food supplies and proved to be uncannily slippery when he frantically tried to catch them. As Herodias screamed in terror, Sophia covered her mouth with both hands, barely keeping herself from laughing at her parents' expense. By the end of the day, Archaementes only managed to catch three rats simply because they remained nearby when the blessing wore off. The rest of the escaped rats were likely far away from his family's house by now. Nevertheless, Archaementes considered the experiment to be a resounding success as he placed the rats back into their cages and awarded them with extra food. Replacing the ruined food, Archaementes made some arrangements for his followers to bring him items to enact the next step of his plan.
1 year spreading blessed items throughout Persia and India.Knowing that the Atlanteans cared less about toys and agricultural tools compared to gold coins and swords, Archaementes arranged for his followers to bring those items to him. For several weeks, Archaementes blessed thousands of those items with the Good Fortune blessing, giving each blessing a run-time of at least five years before fading away completely. Archaementes also made the blessing subtle to avoid alerting the Cisharni to their presence and instructed his spies to stow the blessed items near the civilians' homesteads and fields, keeping them away from garrisons and barracks. Unlike during the case of the cursed coins, Archaementes didn't bothered telling his spies to shield their hands from the blessing. Perhaps their luck will improve enough for them to successfully complete their jobs anyway. By Sind, this had better work perfectly this time.
3 years spent putting a spin on the Madness Plague Fiasco.Now that he was on his way to cleaning up his mess, it is time to shift the blame to the Atlantean Empire. Currently, the Persians and Indians needed someone to blame for their suffering. Sure the Atlanteans have already spread half-truths about the Madness Plague being caused by Sindari trickery but, considering that no one in those two countries had ever seen a Sindari in their lives, those demigods are more or less bogeymen set up by the Atlanteans just so that the Persians and Indians can have someone to hate. Well, he can work with that analysis.
Of course, Archaementes would have to present the propaganda in a way so that the Atlanteans would mistake the propagandists as nothing more than mere human resistance rather than the direct actions of a Sindari. This meant that no explicit references to the Cisharni or the Dragon's Dynasty should be mentioned at all since that is not common knowledge among the humans and the Sindari can only be mentioned carefully because the Atlanteans mentioned them first. As far as most humans are concerned, the Cisharni and Sindari don't actually exist.
To this end, Archaementes thought of a solution: create a phantom organization of a sort. Existing only as a propagated rumor that are occasionally backed by physical deeds, this 'organization' will function as a front for the Shrouded Dawn's own activities, a mask to be used to throw off the Inquisitor's scent. While outsiders would mistake it as a real organization, in reality it's Archaementes' very own propaganda machine that, if done right and long enough, can achieve a sort of immortality and awe most groups can only dream of. After a few drafts, Archaementes decided to name this imaginary group 'Humans Opposing Propagated Evils', or HOPE for short. Such a name makes people trust it more and would fool Atlantis. Archaementes decided not to reveal his hand in this 'organization's' creation to the other Sindari to give them plausible deniability in case they are captured by the Cisharni. Now that he has his 'organization', he can use it as a means for shifting the blame to the Atlanteans and perhaps other things in the future.
For years, Archaementes wrote notices to be secreted into Persia and India by his spies, written in languages relevant to the regions. Each notice, a product of Archaementes' legendary skill in persuasion, reads as follows:
”Attention, fellow peoples of the world! By now, you had long suffered under the yoke of the Atlantean devils and had watched as they slaughtered your loved ones. By now, you still remembered the day when these hateful people attacked your country unprovoked and subjected you to hard labor! Some of you may still remember how they desecrated your temples and burned vestiges of your culture away, only to replace them with worthless filth straight from the bowels of Atlantis herself, the whore of the world! Even now, you constantly feel their boots on your necks and their lashes at your backs. Now, as if your suffering wasn't enough, the sadistic Atlanteans have chosen to curse you and your loved ones with madness! We had just received word from an escaped slave that the Atlanteans have placed a hex on coins with notches on their edges and spent them at your towns on their way to China! We'd also learned that the curse are passed on through direct contact so if you find any of these coins, please don't let them touch your skin! Dispose of them immediately! This despicable act had been authorized by the Golden Prince, whose golden armor is naught but a gilding for his black and rotted heart! Is it just a coincidence that your poor countrymen suffered from bouts of madness the moment the Golden Prince and his horde of barbarians showed up at your towns? We think not! To cover up their heinous sin, the Atlantean have concocted fantasies concerning 'Sindari' and their sorceries, making them a bogeyman to hide their atrocity! Hah! We'd rather serve these fantastical beings than listen to one lie from Atlantis. We should know: we at HOPE (Humans Opposing Propagated Evils) come from all walks of life, yet we are united in our hatred toward the deceptive Atlanteans and the suffering we'd endured at their hands! Now we have given you the truth. Do with it what you will.”
Now that the notices have been sent to Persia and India, all Archaementes have to do is to await his plan's successful fruition because if the Pharaoh's bullshit doesn't make things worse than they already are then a catastrophic mistake in this area definitely will.
Expected Results:
2 years( Persuasion X2) = Proficient Persuader (Sophia)
4 years( Good Fortune Blessing X2) = Accomplished Good Fortune User
Persians and Indians blessed with good luck.Public opinion in Persia and India toward Atlantean Empire greatly decreased. Public opinion in Persia and India toward Sindari brought to neutral.Family
Herodias, Wife, Age: 39
Sophia, Daughter, Age 19, 5/6 Sindari
Total Number of followers: 640 = +3 Attributes
Agility:
5, Perception:
8[spoiler = Like Father, Like Daughter]
Name: Sophia
Alias: Star of Wisdom
Appearance: A female with freckles on the bridge of her nose, Sophia has her long golden hair tied into a single braid.
Class: 5/6 Sindari = Lives 200-400 longer than average. Can be many times faster and stronger, along with more intelligence, than an average human.
Abilities: Gifted (Presence)- Possessing an almost superhuman amount of charisma, Sophia can sway more people to her side whether they realized it or not.
Attributes: Strength: 2 Agility: 2 Intelligence: 2 Willpower: 2 Perception: 2 Presence: 4
Wealth/Assets: 0
Influence:0
Worshipers/Power:0
Family:
Herodias (Mother)
Archaementes (Father)
Skills:
Proficient Persuader
[/spoiler]
Though she'd known since birth that she is different from all the other children, Sophia embraced this because it meant that she is destined for greatness. Whether due to the subtle influence of her father or a natural inclination to stand over other, less endowed people, Sophia felt that she is meant to do more than frolic in a backwater village. However, to say that Herodias didn't also have an influence on Sophia is like saying that a bird didn't need to flap its wings to take off from the ground. Indeed, many people appreciated someone who garnered their love and respect, not a despot who'd demanded it. Carefully choosing how and what she'd say to people, Sophia was able to impress child and elder alike with her mannerisms and speeches. She'd soon earned the nickname 'Star of Wisdom' from the village elders. However, as her father always say, one must look at the bigger picture. After spending two years learning the fine art of persuasion, Sophia was ready for her first few tasks of extending the Shrouded Dawn's reach at Atlantis' expense.
1 year spent traveling to Rhodes.
3 years spent gathering devoted followers.
1 year spent returning to Belarus.Escorted by some of Archaementes' followers, Sophia finally reached the city-state of Rhodes. According to her father, the city is known for its blacksmiths, most of whom were descended from those who'd forged beams and sheets of metal used to construct the famous Colossus of Rhodes. Perhaps she will make them see the wisdom in forging for a far greater cause than making statues. She then sought the most experienced and professional of blacksmiths.
Taking Archaementes' tips to heart, Sophia made sure to approach each blacksmith individually and discreetly to avoid drawing attention. Despite Sophia being no older than their own daughters, the blacksmiths were convinced by her rhetoric and lured in by her charisma and soon pledged themselves to the Shrouded Dawn's cause. Once her work was done, Sophia and Co returned to Belarus.
3 years spent gathering devoted followers.As soon as she returned home, Sophia gathered more followers. Though she at first wanted to recruit only the children she'd grew up with, ever she realized that adults are more useful. Once she recruited enough followers, Sophia have them trained by her father's spymaster into the best spies she can get. Once she'd received her spies, Sophia sent some of them to Egypt and did something that even her father seemed to avoid like the plague.
For better or worse, Sophia send some of the others to spy on Sparta.
According to Archaementes, Sparta is a city-state in cahoots with Atlantis. Ruled by a Cisharni named Hera, Sparta has an upper social class consisting of her Nu-Cisharni spawn, ruling over an even bigger social class of state-owned human slaves known as helots. Sophia's reasoning was that since the Spartans could cared less about the helots, it is logical that the Shrouded Dawn should infiltrate them to gain valuable intel on the Cisharni's movements within Sparta without raising any red flags. Just in case they get captured, they can activate the Sudden Death Mark they'd received in their initiation ceremony to avoid giving the rest of the Shrouded Dawn away. Though he was worried about the plan failing, Archaementes reluctantly gave her his blessing. After all, this is a teaching moment for the both of them and success and failures make good teachers.
Expected Results:
3 years (10 X 4 Presence) = 24 Skill 5 Blacksmiths
3 years (10 X 4 Presence) = 24 Skill 5 Spies
8 spies spent to Egypt to establish a spy network.8 spies spent to Sparta to establish a spy network.Total number of followers: 48 = +2 Attributes
Intelligence:
3, Perception:
3
Author
Topic: Sindari: Immortals (Read 32670 times)