Current events/Archive
From The Heretic Knowledge Vault
Archives of Current events pages made obsolete as time passes. If you update the Current Events page (which should be done about once a month, but not more), please move the old content to the bottom of this page to make it easier to find. (Warning: SPOILERIFIC!)
Contents |
2006
January
Currently, Ian has disappeared through a giant portal with Meji, leaving Sarine, Jon, and Ellis behind at the inn. Speculation is rife as to whether or not Ian has absorbed the power of Anilis, or whether he's just really powerful.
In other events, Sara has revealed to Chris why the Ensigerum have been so hard on him. Jon and Sarine took out some bandits, and Sarine revealed to Jon that the reason that she mindwiped him was not some deep terrible elven secret, but rather that they had sex. Ellis expressed displeasure at not being included in the mind-wiping.
March
As of 24 March 2006, Jon has decided to wash his hands of the whole mess, and started back where he came from via horse-drawn wagon. That's significant because he dislikes horses, but he claims to like hanging around with the presently contrite and apprehensive Sarine even less. Bad timing: at the same time, phase one of the Ensigerum's conspiracy with the Veracian church to destroy the Gewehr, Jon's employers, is in motion, courtesy of a bogus approach to the Gewehr by a churchman purportedly looking to eliminate a rival for power in the church.
In other events, a capsule version of why and how Ian went to the giant potato has been disclosed, with a ghostly and abrupt, but not entirely unexpected, mind rape in the final frame. And Ellis has made a fairly disgusting reappearance.
May
As of 29 May 2006, Sarine is back in Praenubilus Astu (which she obviously doesn't like very much) reporting to the Elven Council on what she observed at the Giant Magic Potato -- minus a few little details, like for example, the fact that Meji was there too. What looked like a life-threatening ambush en route to the council chambers turned out to be just her friend Misa playing childish (1500-year-old) games that almost got her (Misa, that is) killed. Sarine has told Misa just enough of her adventures of the last month to whet her interest in joining the fun, without spilling anything seriously revealing. Sarine is now done with the council, and vice versa -- or so they'd like her to believe.
In other news, Jon has bugged out, with a hitchhiking Ellis, and may be walking straight into the teeth of the brewing conflict between Ensigerum and Gewehr. And from Ian, Meji, Anita, and so on? No news -- yet.
September
As of 17 September 2006, the Ensigerum's plan to draw out and crush the Gewehr Wraiths is starting to work, as Jon's bullet fired at Winston Maurel, the Veracian Church VIP who's being used as bait, has been intercepted in mid-flight by Warrel. Something violent is about to happen between Jon (with Sarine in the background and possibly on his side) and Warrel (possibly assisted by Sara when she gets back from taking care of the prelate); stay tuned for details.
In other developments, Ian and Meji haven't been heard from for a while, having last been seen flying toward Santuariel or Tsuirakushiti or who knows where. Meanwhile, the elves are calling in the Viradior and rangers to go out looking for them. This, of course, doesn't make Sarine very happy, but at least she's gotten out of Praenubilus Astu (which she despises) and isn't in on the hunt. Unfortunately, with the Warrel development, that's out of the frying pan and into the fire.
November
As of 17 November 2006, the Ensigerum's plan to draw out and crush the Gewehr Wraiths has met something of a reverse, due to the unexpected appearance of Sarine Elle in the middle of an intimate little tête-a-tête between overconfident Ensigerum honcho Warrel, his trainee Sara Amraphel, and the latter's brother Jon, who had been previously designated as the victim. This nearly had fatal results for the unsuspecting Sarine, but even Warrel couldn't handle bullets coming at him from one side and a magic-using, 3000-year-old Special Forces fighter on the other. The three survivors, after a typically good-natured exchange of insults, have gone off to have a private conversation, as soon as Sara wakes up from being cold-cocked by her bro (and maybe, as soon as they've rescued Ellis).
While they're off musing about old times and politics, the scene has shifted to somewhere in the Northern Confederacy, where a merry bar fight has broken out following the discovery of certain of Riley's oddities. Armed intervention by Leah may or may not be bringing this to a premature conclusion, however. And we don't know -- yet -- what Meji Hinadori and the divinely-supercharged Ian Samael are up to.
December
As of 20 December 2006, the scene has shifted to the Northern Confederacy, where Ian and Meji have arrived following a long flight (courtesy of Ian's supernaturally-supercharged spellcraft), spectacular re-entry, and drunken weirdness on Ian's part that leaves Meji wondering just what got into the guy. (Of course, she doesn't know about Anilis.) Unfortunately, while he's met up with his friends Riley and Leah, they've been less than candid with him on what happened to his sister Evelyn and mother while he was away from Santuariel. Suspicious, he's gone on ahead to town to make a shattering discovery, and we're all waiting for him to blow his cork...
2007
February
As of 1 February 2007, the action is in Santuariel, where the divinely-supercharged Ian Samael has discovered a mission in life to make up for his failure to save his recently-deceased sister Evelyn: curing his fellow half elves of the various things that make some of them Errants. (Riley, to the delight and anticipation of a bunch of readers, has declined to get her little bit of anatomical uniqueness fixed.) The action takes a lot out of him, and he can only do just so many Omega-Heals at a time without collapsing from the effort and needing lots of rest. He's acquired an unexpected guardian/mother figure to help deal with the crowds when this happens: Meji Hinadori, who for once in her life is showing some maturity and concern for others (Ian, that is, not the crowds). Some of the people that he can't help before he collapses aren't terribly happy to be left un-healed, understandably enough; whether the dark rumblings from the uncured crowd are a portent of things to come isn't yet clear.
We haven't seen any scenes of the rest of the world for quite a while now. The last time we saw Sarine and Jon, they'd survived a close call in combat against the late time ninja Warrel and were going off to find Meji, reluctantly accompanied by Jon's "little sister magic zombie of slicey death," Sara. That was a few days ago in story time, so who knows where they are now. Life in Praenubilus Astu may also be getting interesting as the elves mobilize forces of their own to look for Meji and Ian; we just don't know. And Anita is due to discover that all of the little character flaws that Paul observed in Warrel turned out to be fatal flaws, which she's unlikely to take with much equanimity...
March
As of 9 March 2007, the action is still in Santuariel, where the Anilis-enhanced Ian has been trying to come to terms with his uber-magical powers. He's done all manner of healing of the Errant residents, but it's not just garden-variety fixing of owies; rather, it's a basic reset of the things innately wrong with Errants, which we in the outside world call Omega-Heal. As one might suspect, this has gained him a certain following, to the point where the townsfolk are becoming pests, with Meji doing what she can to keep them under control (by threatening violence, which after all is what Meji knows best).
Unfortunately, Ian's attempt to push the envelope and resurrect his dead sister Evelyn has gone badly. He succeeded in re-animating (and exposing) Evelyn's body, but realized, to his horror, that it was "empty," i.e., uninhabited by his sister's soul. His response has sent body parts flying in all directions, and now the question is whether the chapter ends before he has a complete meltdown. It looks to be a dead heat, so to speak.
April
As of 2 April 2007, the scene has shifted to somewhere in the boonies of Veracia, where Sarine and Jon (and Ellis) have acquired a somewhat unwilling fellow traveler: Jon's sister Sara, whom they subdued in the grand melee with her instructor, the late Warrel. She's looking a bit glum, not so much because of the magical manacles that Sarine slapped on her, but out of fear of what the Ensigerum will do to her if she goes back, since she "failed" by getting captured and "letting" Warrel get killed.
Not that it's an unrealistic fear, to be sure. Back in the Ensigerum village, Anita and Paul have had a tete-a-tete on Ensigerum strategy, during which Anita has characteristically jumped to all manner of bogus conclusions about collaborations or confrontations (or maybe both at once) among the Gewehr, Veracian Church, elves, and who knows who else. Her response is equally in character: kill 'em all. We also learn that the Ensigerum have noticed an increase in the number of elves wandering around in human territories doing who-knows-what. (Of course, we, the detached readers/Greek chorus, know they're looking for Ian and Meji, who are still safely ensconced in Santuariel, but Anita doesn't know that.)
In the midst of it all, there has been a marvelously innuendo-loaded little aside about Durus Flamma swords and "magic elf crystals."
May
As of 3 May 2007, the action is still somewhere in the boonies of Veracia, where Sarine and Jon (and Ellis) have acquired a somewhat unwilling fellow traveler: Jon's sister Sara, whom they subdued in the grand melee with her instructor, the late Warrel. She's been turned loose by Sarine, after an angry exchange between Jon and Sara in which a great deal of rage from Sara emerged, having to do with Jon leaving her to rot in an orphanage until she was rescued by the Ensigerum. (Jon basically shrugs his shoulders at this, reasoning that he didn't even know that Sara was in that "hell hole" until it was too late.) Sarine and Sara are currently engaged in a merry duel of sorts, the real purpose, not to mention seriousness, of which is not settled yet.
Back in the Ensigerum village, Anita and Paul have had a tete-a-tete on Ensigerum strategy, during which Anita has characteristically jumped to all manner of bogus conclusions about collaborations or confrontations (or maybe both at once) among the Gewehr, Veracian Church, elves, and who knows who else. Her response is equally in character: kill 'em all. We also learn that the Ensigerum have noticed an increase in the number of elves wandering around in human territories doing who-knows-what. (Of course, we, the detached readers/Greek chorus, know they're looking for Ian and Meji, who are still safely ensconced in Santuariel, but Anita doesn't know that.)
On the Santuariel front, all is quiet, but their time is coming, no doubt.
June
As of 3 June 2007, the action is in Tsuirakushiti. Meji Hinadori has traveled there following the messy end of her voyage to Santuariel with Ian Samael, who's disappeared in a flash of light following his unsuccessful attempt to resurrect his sister Evelyn. In the week or so since her arrival, she's mainly been moping around the house, worrying about Ian and also about the likelihood of failing her finals. Her friend Etsuko (introduced in the last couple of weeks) has first tried to cheer her up through a new hairdo and offer of a shopping trip, then tried to talk sense to her about the need to actually try in school, but the message isn't taking.
Meanwhile, Sarine Elle, Jon Amraphel and his reluctant sister Sara, and the ever-sarcastic Ellis have gated in to Tsuirakushiti as well, after some group bonding in the boonies of Veracia involving a duel and some gunshots, none of them inflicting any terminal damage. Presumably they're there looking for Meji, but contact hasn't been made yet, nor do we know what will happen when they do cross paths. And what of Anita and her murderous plans against the Gewehr Wraiths? No idea at all, really...
July
As of 6 July 2007, the action is in Tsuirakushiti, specifically in the pad of Meji's Mom, who we've learned is named Miyo Hinadori. Her recently-introduced housekeeper Nanoa has admitted two parties of visitors, one composed of Jon, Sara and Ellis (the latter using all manner of colorful descriptions for Miyo, who calls him "the monster"), the other of a worried Sarine, having extricated herself from the festivities at the warp gate. She has learned that her bluff with the portal mages and their security force wasn't a bluff: the elven ambassador (the love-'em-and-leave-em specialist Rarune) really is coming to town soon, accompanied by an "honor guard" that Sarine and Jon suspect is coming along not for ceremonial reasons but to snatch Meji, or worse. Sarine and Jon are trying to convince Meji (who'd rather stay to meet her dad, having forgotten what a bad idea this is) to go into hiding to avoid this unpleasant eventuality. Miyo, for her part, would like to relive the one-night stand she had with Rarune about 18 years back, of which Meji is the result, and is a lot more upbeat about the prospect of Rarune visiting again than the others are.
Elsewhere in the Poe-verse, nothing new. Meji has mentioned to Jon that Ian "did some teenaged magical godling angst bomb crap and disappeared," but we haven't seen anything in Santuariel or elsewhere to explain exactly what, where or why. And we can assume that Anita's murderous plans move forward, but no news on that front either.
August
As of 13 August 2007, the action is in Emerylon, where Ian Samael is raining destruction, if not necessarily death, down from the heavens on the headquarters of the Veracian Church -- we don't know why. Patriarch Jeramel and various underlings have sought shelter from the barrage while summoning Luminosita to do battle. This didn't work out well, however, as a quiet Dispel from Ian seems to have discombobulated Luminosita, with some collateral damage. All manner of shoes remain to be dropped here.
Meanwhile, back in Tsuirakushiti, Sarine Elle has linked up with Meji Hinadori, Ellis, Jon Amraphel and Sara Amraphel at Meji's Mom's place, and filled them in on the impending visit of Meji's elven father Rarune. Meji's mom (who, we've learned, is named Miyo Hinadori) was overjoyed to get this bit of news from Meji's Grandfather, to the point that Sarine, who sees the down side of the horny cad that Miyo misses, has resorted to a mild ... shaping ... of the truth so that she can spirit Meji away from the elven military force (or, if you prefer, honor guard) coming with him. Sarine, Meji, Ellis, Jon and Sara have found a hidey-hole in the form of the apartment of Meji's friend Bani Igaaru, while Miyo and her father have gone to the welcoming reception for the elven party. This hasn't had the expected shattering effect on Miyo yet -- at least not on stage. But it will, it will.
No news from the Ensigerum village or any of the other important locations in the story, but it's expected that when the ambitious Anita hears that something has taken a large bite out of the Veracian Church, she'll line up for her share of the church's corpse.
September
As of 8 September 2007, the Anilis-possessed Ian Samael has just taken a nasty hit in the chambers of the Veracian Church, which he invaded following some destructive spellcasting and a tussle with the seemingly-defunct Luminosita. Before getting carved up, he'd started a dialogue of sorts with the intimidated Jeramel for the purpose of finding out where the elves live. Jeramel claimed (in a state of near hysteria) not to know this little trivium, which Ian couldn't believe; time will tell whether he's lying to conceal the knowledge, or the Veracians really don't know. Ian may or may not be in a state to receive the information when it's imparted -- the sword wound looks pretty lethal, but there are probably some surprises coming...
No news in the last month from any of the other story sites: Tsuirakushiti, where Jon Amraphel, his sister Sara, Sarine Elle and Meji Hinadori (and Ellis) are hunkered down to dodge the appearance of an elven diplomatic party including Meji's father Rarune, or the Ensigerum village, where Anita and Paul are still stewing over the failure of the Winston Maurel ambush, and of course, plotting violence.
October
Lots of stuff going on right now. As of 8 October 2007, the action is in Tsuirakushiti, which is recovering from an energy pulse that did weird things to its levitation system. Meji Hinadori has made a typically impetuous decision to go see her pop, who's in town as part of an elven diplomatic mission and is at a party that Meji is trying to crash. Not too surprisingly, this didn't go well, as she and Ellis got snatched by a bouncer (or is it death squad? we don't know yet...) at the door. Fortunately, Bani's dad heard her leaving his apartment (where the merry crew has holed up), and while engaging in a bit of fantasizing regarding Sarine Elle, tipped Sarine off to this goofy quest. Sarine, Jon Amraphel and his sister Sara are about to go try to get Meji out of whatever mess she's gotten herself into.
Other fun stuff has happened at the diplomatic party. Meji's mother Miyo, unlike her daughter, was actually invited to the thing, since her own father is one of the high mucky-mucks who met Rarune and his honor guard at the warp gate and are squiring them around. Something -- we don't know exactly what yet, but we can guess -- happened there that caused Miyo to leave the party early and get roaring drunk, or vice versa. She's now at home pouring her inebriated heart out to Sarine, Jon and Sara (and, on the side, her servant Nanoa) as they try to persuade her to smuggle them into the party somehow.
Meanwhile, the carnage in Emerylon has (temporarily?) come to a surprise ending. Ian Samael, whom we last saw being incapacitated if not downright filleted by a sword back-stab after doing all manner of damage at the Veracian Church headquarters (and causing that Tsuirakushiti-disturbing energy pulse), is down and out. His assailant turned out to be a guard who was in turn blasted by the unexpected Sandel, apparently an Ensigerum monk who infiltrated the guard force protecting Jeramel and the other Church big shots. After doing a bit of gloating, he's departed, stage right and at monkish speed, with the splattered Ian as a present for his boss Anita.
November
As of November 2007, the action is in Tsuirakushiti, with a threat to remove it (or at least some of the actors) to Praenubilus Astu. Meji and Ellis did indeed get bagged when they tried to crash the reception for her father, the ambassador, just as it seemed last month. A pair of elves, the recently-introduced Peregin Barin and an unnamed guy in the regular elven army, have visited a severely drunk and heartbroken Miyo to try to pass off the transparent lie that her daughter is voluntarily going to visit her old man in the Elven Territories for a while -- where, no doubt, some tragic accident was going to befall her after she'd served as bait to attract Ian Samael. Miyo's unexpected house guests Jon Amraphel, his sister Sara, and Sarine Elle (who made a quick exit via a window) immediately saw through the charade, and after Barin left, nailed the unnamed muscle with a bullet to the belly, leaving him alive and in agony just long enough to spill his guts (so to speak) on what's really going on with Meji. Sarine and Jon are now out in the city trying to find something to do about it.
No news from other sites in the Poe-verse, but in the outside world, there's a redesign of the home page, and a brand new Forum for fans to have fun with.
December
As of December 2007, Ian has regained consciousness following his back-stabbing in Emerylon, and is now Anita's guest in the Ensigerum Village, although he sports an impressive scar from the wound he got. He's showing some emotional wounds as well: en route to wakefulness, he had a big-time nightmare involving a giant, enraged elven deity on the warpath -- presumably Anilis. As a result, he wasn't in the best of moods on awakening, but Anita's ministrations seem to have calmed him down. Her second-in-command Paul didn't think this was such a great idea and just about tossed Ian off a high roof, but Anita intervened, and Paul has now gone off to sulk. (Anita thinks this is partly because Paul is originally from Emerylon, and she suspects that he still has family connections there -- rather at odds with the Ensigerum's usual expectation that its recruits will cut ties with their past. The implications of this aren't fully clear yet.) She's now trying to get Ian to partner with the Ensigerum against someone, probably the elves.
No news from other sites in the Poe-verse, although conversations have made it clear that the damage Ian inflicted on Emerylon wasn't just confined to the Veracian Church.
2008
January
As of January 2008, a new chapter is starting, so we're at a temporary full stop on a slew of threads. Ian has regained consciousness following his backstabbing by Sandel, but in the Ensigerum village, not Emerylon. En route to consciousness, he's had a poignant dream -- or half-conscious reminiscence, hard to be sure -- about his childhood with his sister Evelyn, Riley and Leah. He's also had a ghastly nightmare/hallucination about a fearsome, demonic being that may be Anilis, who's still in residence somewhere within his psyche. This woke him up in a crazed, mad state, but Anita, who sees real potential in the boy, talked him down to normality, and has started to coax him into an anti-elf alliance. (Her lieutenant Paul, who's furious with Ian for doing so much damage to Emerylon where Paul's from originally, doesn't think this is a very good idea, but oh well.)
Meanwhile, Sarine, Jon and Sara have traveled into the Elven Territories via travel platform, with various entertaining vignettes along the way, for example a "horrific" song about Tarragon the Troll and Doodah the Dragon. Unfortunately, their plans to slip quietly into Praenubilus Astu have been interrupted by an elf patrol that materialized at just the right time to bag the whole bunch of them. The last shoe has surely not dropped here, although the chapter has ended. In the middle of it all, Meji and Ellis are in an elven prison somewhere, we know not where, but will surely find out ...
February
As of February 2008, the action is in the Ensigerum village, where Imperatrix Anita is in the middle of a mind-bogglingly risky sparring bout with Ian. This came about after he'd decided to cooperate with her in a crusade against the elves, and then interpreted her offer of a duel -- "you want to have a go at it?" -- in a slightly ... different ... way than Anita really intended. All was clarified, Anita landed some (pulled) punches on him, he flew off the magical handle and threw her into a wall, she's scolding him for losing control, and there the matter rests.
Meanwhile, back in the Elven Territories, Sarine has artfully talked her way out of serious trouble (for the Amraphels as well as herself) after being intercepted by a patrol under the command of the officious Rhee, a possible peregin. A very slight tweaking of the truth has gained her, Jon and Sara an (unwanted) armed escort to a safe house in Praenubilus Astu -- not her house, which she would have preferred, but you can't have everything. En route to this turn of events, Sara got to show off her time-ninja skillz by breaking the nose of one unsuspecting elf (Rhee) and the arm of another one, and also to pose an agrammatical but entirely comprehensible and menacing challenge in the elvish language. (This made something of an impression on the elves, who'd been treating her with dangerously ignorant contempt -- it's not a good idea to call someone a "cow" if they can vivisect you in milliseconds.) Of course, the puffed-up elves had it coming, but Sarine has shown what a sweetheart she is at heart by healing their injuries while a Viradior in the patrol was off getting orders from the elven high command. This band was last seen heading into the skyless city, to coin a phrase, while Sarine fusses about how this way of getting in was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Once again, that's just the way she is. At least she got the satisfaction of facing down the Viradior guy who went to get the orders from high command, which apparently doesn't happen every day -- the Viradior were apparently a lot tougher in the Good Old Days.
Of Meji and Ellis, no news, so they're presumably still singing the jailhouse blues -- off key, no doubt.
March
As of March 2008, Sarine, Jon and Sara are "guests" of the elves in Praenubilus Astu, where they're confined to a Consulate building of unknown history but with a great view of the Great Statue of Anilis. Sarine's friend Misa dropped by to see if the rumors about humans in the Skyless City were true, and was delighted to learn that not only are there humans there, they're with Sarine and include an Ensigerum monk -- a female one at that, which apparently is unprecedented (at least Misa is mightily impressed). Now Misa has been recruited to run a few errands for Sarine, who can't leave the consulate and has a bunch of elves mad at her for disabling the scrying devices that they wouldn't admit were there. One of the errands was to get a note surreptitiously to Meji, who's still locked up with Ellis somewhere in the city. Another was to cadge together an Ensigerum "uniform" of a sort for Sara, for purposes that we don't know yet. Finally, she picked up a case of Inanire 312 anti-magical hand grenades for Sarine, although it turns out that the case is nearly empty -- having just enough 312s inside to offer great prospects of dramatic tension later on. So it's fair to say that Misa has been pretty busy lately.
Nothing new of the outside world, including the Ensigerum village, where Anita and Ian are continuing to plot death and destruction against the elves, no doubt. There's also no news from Tsuirakushiti; quite possibly Meji's mom hasn't sobered up enough yet to even realize that Meji has been Errant-napped.
April
As of 4 April 2008, lots of stuff is going on, some of it behind the scenes. Sarine, Jon and Sara have started their "negotiations" with the Elven Council, with a certain amount of pomp and ceremony -- the Amraphels are the first humans to address the Council in centuries, and the "uniforms" they're wearing (courtesy of some help by Misa) can definitely be described as "colorful." Sarine, who's spotted her mother among the audience (to their mutual discomfort), is desperately trying to get the elves to handle their prisoner Meji with kid gloves (and ideally to release her), but the message isn't taking. We've learned that Tsuiraku is aware that Meji has been Errant-napped and is demanding her return, and to improve their bargaining position, have bagged the visiting Peregin Barin themselves. The elves aren't paying attention to the Tsuirakuans either, and at the moment it looks like this will end in fire...
And the fire is likely to involve an unexpected (from the elven perspective) arsonist, as up in the Ensigerum village, Ian's Anilis-enhanced efforts to make telepathic contact with Meji have finally succeeded. He now knows that she's a captive in Praenubilus Astu and in mortal danger. Ever the one to rescue a damsel in distress, never mind the collateral damage, he's lost his cool (a distressingly common occurrence these days...) and blasted out of the Ensigerum compound, and is now en route to Praenubilus Astu to join the party, leaving a bewildered Chris (who's been serving as his orderly) behind to explain what happened. Anita isn't gonna like this ...
May
As of 3 May 2008, the comic is in a brief holding pattern while Poe gets caught up, with omake filling in for a few days or weeks until he's ready to resume. However, there's plenty of action waiting to happen when postings start up again, as nearly all the main characters (except Anita, who's still scheming in the Ensigerum village) have made it to Praenubilus Astu -- Meji and Ellis via errant-napping, and Sarine, Jon and Sara "visiting" to address the Elven Council. And we certainly can't forget Ian, who's homed in on Meji, poked through some walls to extract her from the confinement vault, and snuffed quite a number of elves, growing more comfortable with it every time he splatters one. The earthquake announcing his arrival interrupted proceedings in the council chambers just as they were getting interesting...
So all told, we're in a real cliff-hanger state, with a new chapter about to start as soon as Poe has it all drawn. The next monthly update to Current Events will come in early June, or a few days after postings resume, whichever is later.
July
As of 2 July 2008, the comic has resumed following a one-month break -- life is good again! The action is in Praenubilus Astu, where a magical-destruction-slinging battle between Ian Samael (and his passenger Anilis, with Meji and Ellis along for the ride) and the elven military under Commander Nisotta has been raging. Ian had been getting the better of things until an unnamed elf (at least probably unnamed, rather than the recently-introduced Viradior Gilliam) tossed an Inanire 312 anti-magic grenade at his feet. In the resulting break in the magical mayhem, Ian looks like he's taken first a serious magical blast and then a ridiculously fatal sword thrust ... but it's probably not as fatal as it looks.
Meanwhile, Sarine, Jon Amraphel and his sister Sara have been offstage somewhere in the city, but are coming to join the fray, although Jon is marveling at Sarine's insistence on running toward, not away from, the fight. There's been a little humorous by-play between Sarine and Sara over a weapon that's probably not trapped, but that's a side show.
Of Tsuirakushiti and the Ensigerum village, nothing new, but patience.
August
As of 8 August 2008, the physical violence in Praenubilus Astu has given way (although maybe not for long) to verbal sparring, as the Powers That Be among the elves try to assign blame (read: blame each other) for the Ian fiasco. High Commander Yenhael and Commander Nisotta are going at it hammer and tongs over just about everything imaginable, including tactical blunders during the fight, what to do with Meji (who's been transferred to higher-class digs where Jon and probably Sara are also holed up), freeing Barin from the clutches of the Tsuirakuans who've bagged him until Meji is released, and of course, each other. Sarine is, for the moment, a silent spectator at this little bit of badinage, and she doesn't think it'll end well --reasonably enough.
As for the battle itself, it's reached an inconclusive end, as the hacked-up Ian, after dispatching no fewer than 87 elves (a number that Nisotta and Yenhael rub each other's noses in repeatedly), has fled the scene like a missile launch. He's no doubt healing up and planning more violence against the elves, but we don't know where, when, or how.
September
As of 5 September 2008, the action is in Praenubilus Astu, where Sarine, Jon, Meji (and Ellis), and probably Sara are still hunkered down in the Consulate. However, that may change soon, as Sarine has received orders from the Elven Council to take Meji back to Tsuirakushiti. Sara's state isn't quite clear either, as she's temporarily(?) disappeared, and may be getting not-totally-appreciated fangirl attention from Misa.
There's been all sorts of fun as the elves dig out from under the damage inflicted by Ian and try to decide what to do next. There is a truce, for the time being, between High Commander Yenhael and Commander Nisotta, who'd been getting energetically into the blame game but were hauled up short by some sober analysis by Sarine and councilors Skena and Masaki, the latter making his first appearance. On the debit side, Sarine has been horrified to learn that the elves are thinking of awakening Senilis to join the fray. She's also had a little chat with Rarune (who's been dismissed as Ambassador to Tsuiraku and doesn't like it) that left him bleeding from a few orifices, but nothing serious -- yet.
Of Ian himself, nothing new, and this is definitely not one of those no-news-is-good-news situations...
October
As of 3 October 2008, Ian has crash-landed in Santuariel, right straight through the roof of the house where Leah and Riley live. He wasn't in the best of shape when he got there, but a small nap has set things right, and has also given him enough magical juice back that he could rebuild the house -- impressing, and disconcerting, his hosts. He's presently filling them in on all the stuff that he had been doing down south, and is coming to the realization that most of it is nothing to be very proud of.
Back in Praenubilus Astu, the session at the Elven Council has broken up, and Sarine has gone back to the Consulate to tell Meji and the Amraphels what's going on -- after first letting Rarune know that if anything bad happens to Meji, whether he's involved or not, his ass is grass and Sarine's the mower. Meji (and Ellis) and Jon hear the story, but Sara isn't there, having been invited out to a sparring session with 6'4" fangirl Misa. This didn't go well from Misa's standpoint, not just because Sara's time-ninja skills were far beyond what Misa could handle, but even more, because of the damage done to Misa's fragile, 1400-year-old psyche. Misa, it seems, went and hid when the dustup with Ian started -- quite a sensible thing to do, actually, but her sense of self-worth has been pulverized, and she's despondent about her chances of ever amounting to anything, Sara's clumsy attempts to console her notwithstanding.
Of the outside world (e.g. Tsuirakushiti and the Ensigerum village), no news, but patience.
November
As of 1 November 2008, the action is in Praenubilus Astu, where Sarine, the Amraphels, Meji (and Ellis), and Misa are dolefully contemplating what to do next. Sarine has told the others of the elves' plan to awaken the dormant Senilis, although we readers don't yet know what those plans are. She has also mentioned that she's to escort Meji back to Tsuirakushiti under safe conduct granted by the elves. After that, who knows? The crew are basically hanging around their quarters at the Consulate, having come to the conclusion that they're all outcasts who are breaking ties with their respective cultures. Ah, the pain.
Meanwhile, in Santuariel, Ian has been dismayed to learn from Leah and Riley that many of the Omega-Heals he did the last time he was in town haven't gone well -- in the case of Jason Darrow, a blind boy whose sight he'd restored, terminally not well. After berating himself over his inability to do anything right, he's once again launched into the stratosphere, to go who knows where and do who knows what, although violence against the elves seems like a pretty good bet.
No news recently of Emerylon, the Ensigerum village, and so on, but life probably isn't great in those places either. All told, the Poe-verse has seen better days.
December
As of 5 December 2008, Sarine and the Amraphels are in Tsuirakushiti, having just gated in (after some badinage in Taberna) to take Meji home. Meji's probably around there somewhere, but not seen yet, which is causing her grandfather a certain amount of distress as he meets them at the gate. (Presumably he's forgotten what a pain in the ass Meji can be.) They've reached this destination following a rather testy exchange with ranger Sarna outside Praenubilus Astu, during which Sarna took every opportunity to set barbs in Sarine regarding her preference for hanging around with smelly humans rather than helping defend the elven city or going to look for Senilis. Sarine uncharacteristically held her tongue and didn't tell Sarna that she was following orders and doing something the elves needed done, and didn't even rip her a new one on general principles, even though Sarna really had it coming. A contrite Misa was part of this exchange, but quietly returned to the subterranean city to do her part in shoring up the defenses.
Meanwhile, Ian, who'd launched into the stratosphere last month following a disconcerting visit to Santuariel, has re-entered at the Ensigerum village, to be scolded by Paul and Anita for pre-empting against the elves and squandering the element of surprise. Big mistake, as he'd already figured out that Anita was manipulating him, and was dropping by to announce that the shoe is now on the other foot. He put the kibosh on their attempts to bring him under their thumbs, showed them who has the real power, and in a surprising turn, now seems to be taking seriously a sarcastic remark by Paul that he might do better looking for allies among the trolls. However, the scene shifted before we could see where that little twist is going to lead.
No news of Emerylon, except that it's still a mess, and that the Veracian Church is trying to cover up what really happened -- sensibly enough.
2009
January
As of 2 January 2009, the action is in Tsuirakushiti, where Sarine is desperately trying to get the city fathers (meaning Meji's Grandfather and the recently-introduced General Izayoi) to help deal with the I-bomb that's out there somewhere. This follows an exchange of hostages (Meji for Barin, whose attitude toward Sarine is not exactly one of appreciation), the usual sarcastic wit by Jon and Ellis, and a surprisingly warm welcome home for Meji rendered by her mother and surprise visitor Bani Igaaru (and Rape-kun). Alas, not all is sweetness and light. Bani has informed Meji that contrary to her hopes, Professor Yukiri is cutting her not the slightest bit of slack as regards her term project at Sashi Mu Academy of Thaumaturgy and Conjuration. Furthermore, she and Miyo have come to the realization that Meji was somehow connected with the carnage in Emerylon, which is probably not a good thing, although Bani opines that it may mean that Meji and Ian might be a decent match after all. Finally, Sarine's attempts at negotiation are not going all that well; the Tsuirakuans are having a hard time buying the notion that an elven goddess might have possessed an Errant and be running around causing death and destruction. They're also questioning the elves' motivation and moral posture in the whole thing -- which Sarine admits isn't unreasonable.
Of Emerylon, Santuariel, the Ensigerum village, etc., no recent news, but this is most definitely not one of those no-news-is-good-news things.
February
As of 6 February 2009, Sarine, who's showing a bit of wear and tear, is the center of action, as she desperately searches for some way to not only keep the I-bomb from going off again, but also keep the elves from making a bad situation worse by weaponizing Senilis. Her attempts to get the Tsuirakuan government to quietly put the kibosh on the elven plans didn't come off, to put it mildly, as Meji's Grandfather and General Izayoi have reached the conclusion that the only way to meet the threats is to use force. This didn't sit well with Sarine, and there's a hole punched in a wall somewhere in Tsuirakushiti to prove it.
Predictably, Sarine is berating herself for possibly starting a war rather than defusing a threat -- she does this a lot -- and is hatching a plan to get herself, Meji, Jon, Sara, and maybe even Bani Igaaru into a position to keep things from blowing up -- she does this a lot too. After Meji revealed that Ian had fenced the book on the Lorenzel Excavations at a Tsuirakushiti bookstore ("Arcana Unearthed"), Sarine swapped the proprietor an elven knowledge crystal to get it, and the gang is now trying to get clandestine access to a warp gate, via a ruse involving Sara posing as Bani's country-bumpkin cousin from Farrel. This probably will not end well.
Still no news from Emerylon, the Ensigerum village, etc., but life probably isn't the greatest there either.
Incidentally, in the parallel universe of Errant Road, both currently active threads are also careening toward encounters of some ill-defined but probably violent kind. It's just a violent world.
March
As of 3 March 2009, the action is in a state of suspended animation, in more ways than one. We're between chapters (38 and 39) while Poe does some omake until the action resumes, and in the story itself, the intrepid adventurers are in discorporate state, having just gated out of Tsuirakushiti bound for who-knows-where. (Well, Sarine presumably knows, although she hasn't given details.) They achieved this ethereal state with the help of a couple of semi-kidnapped portalmages whom Sarine first bagged, then bribed, and also with the help of a diversion created by Bani to distract battlemage Jiro. (Did Jiro and Sara Do It? Some things are best left to the imagination.)
Other areas haven't been heard from in quite a while. Ianilis is out there somewhere, possibly taking Paul's jibe about seeking allies among the trolls more seriously than Paul intended it. Paul and Anita haven't been heard from in a while; they've probably been busy licking their Ian-inflicted wounds (spiritual more than physical), but Anita can't refrain from hatching dastardly plots for long, so they'll be heard from again. And what are the elves up to? We'll find out soon enough, but for now, it's a mystery.
April
As of 3 April 2009, the action is in some unidentified place in the far north -- with the emphasis on "action." Sarine, Meji (and Ellis), and the Amraphels have gated up there to try to prevent the conflict brewing between the elves, who've sent a party north to try to awaken and exploit Senilis, and Tsuiraku, who are sending fast airships full of battlemages to stop them. However, the elves know Sarine's do-gooder tendencies and stationed Sarna at the gate to keep exactly this setup from materializing. Neither Sarine nor Sarna were able to convince the other to yield peaceably, so what looks like a serious, grim fight to the death between the two rangers has started, and will likely last a while.
No news from other areas. It's been quiet in the Ensigerum village, remarkably enough, and we also haven't heard anything from Ian. That shoe is certainly going to drop sooner or later.
May
As of 6 May 2009, we're in a brief(?) lull for some Errant Commentary, as Chapter 39 turns into Chapter 40. However, this isn't to say that things are exactly tranquil as the new chapter opens. We're still at some unidentified locale in the far north, apparently a dwarven ruin of some kind but details are lacking. Sarine and Sarna are locked in what looks very much like a life-and-death struggle, after some snarkage with Sarine insisting that the elves need to change their minds about awakening Senilis and Sarna insisting that Sarine has gone over to the dark side. About the only thing established so far is that elves (or at least these two) are seriously hard to kill. Interestingly, they're able to keep the snark going while trying to kill and avoid being killed.
Meji, Jon and Sara are getting in on the fun too, as it turns out that there was a whole squad of elves backing Sarna up. The fire fight has inflicted a hit on Jon, who's apparently not as robust as the elves, but it's hard to be sure how serious it is. Sara, for her part, has been clamped down by some manner of binding spell, leaving Meji (and Ellis, which may or may not be a good thing) the only one of the good guys still able to fight at anything like full strength. Things generally don't look good for the home team ... which is probably an indication that something weird is about to happen.
No news from other areas. It's been quiet in the Ensigerum village, remarkably enough, and we also haven't heard anything from Ian. That shoe is certainly going to drop sooner or later.
June
As of 5 June 2009, the fight continues between the band of elves who have traveled north to awaken Senilis, and Sarine and her colleagues who have traveled north to talk them out of it, or failing that, stop them. Sarine's remarkably evenly-matched death battle with former friend Sarna continues, although there have been hints that something may be about to happen to turn the tide -- one way or another. For the moment, the snarkage that accompanied the first phase of the fight has stopped; possibly the two combatants have realized that this really is a fight to the death, and they'd better devote their attention to more urgent things than witty insults.
The brawl between the larger parties, by contrast, is beginning to show signs of a clear winner and a clear loser -- and to all indications, it's the elves that are losing. Sara Amraphel has managed to escape from the Binding spell that had had her all trussed up, with some help from Meji and (remarkably enough) Ellis. She has inflicted one blow that is most certainly fatal, unless the elves have some ability to regenerate entire bodies from severed heads that we don't know about. Her brother has also drawn serious blood, although we don't know yet whether it's fatal -- probably not. Anyway, Sara's time-ninja skills are starting to turn the tide in this one -- probably.
STILL no word from Ianilis, Anita, or various other baddies, but their time is coming.
