Summary of FTaWSotR/The Flames of War
Main article: The Flames of War
Setting the Stage
Circa de Nova (Vergil)
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Vergil gets himself drunk again when he gets a war report. He dons some magical armor vowing that Cinead will pay.
Investigation (Nioca)
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Suspicious of Jewels' behaviour, Nioca starts an investigation of her and Vergil, sending Aryll to spy on Jewels. He also makes sure that a secret room in his citadel is thoroughly secure.
Moving Forward (w-dueck)
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w-dueck ponders over what he learned at the meeting and is invited to visit Nioca's citadel by Aryll.
Essence (Nalyd)
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Nalyd does some shaping in the Geneforge forum.
Lies and Amritae (Nioca)
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Nioca, suspicious of Jewels, has w-dueck as a guest in his citadel. Under the pretense of talking about the recent Time-Fracture Incident, Nioca has a shade try to pickpocket w-dueck's administrative keys, so Nioca can investigate the Admin Tower and Jewels' room. Meanwhile, a man in yellow platemail arrives at Calamity Refuge.
Nightmares (Robsta)
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Jewels goes to Robsta's hut to talk about the Time-Fracture Incident. Robsta, disturbed by nightmares of the incident and unsure of their nature, accidentally attacks Jewels. This results in Jewels using a small measure of her powers as a newly-awakened Fire Elemental against him. Fortunately, the situation calms down, and they talk things over.
Absolute Power (Jewels)
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Jewels ponders her new powers. When her thoughts turn violent, she lashes out at a tree, showing just how powerful she is and severely damaging it with a single fireball. Suddenly distraught by how quickly the newfound power controlled her, she repairs the damage. She then accidentally absorbs into the tree, discovering that she's only half fire elemental and half nature.
Another Kind of Ultimatum (Vergil)
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Vergil leaves Calamity Refuge briefly to get a new ultimatum. He then joins his cadre of fellow assassins, The Bluebloods, where he receives his next target: His own father, Cinead, Lord of the Fire Plane. Disheartened, Vergil returns to Calamity Refuge.
Experiments (Nalyd)
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Nalyd starts experimenting with his new shaping equipment.
Dire Tidings (Nioca)
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Nioca and w-dueck finish their meeting and w-dueck leaves. The attempt to pickpocket w-dueck's keys had failed. The man in yellow platemail, Yirri, arrives at Nioca's citadel and brings dire tidings. Later, Nioca is summoned by his Guardian Shade Aryll to the tree that Jewels was absorbed into. Nioca spots her Administrative keys sticking out of a side of the tree, and burns the tree down to get to them. Nioca then tells Aryll to follow Vergil. After that, he finds Nalyd in the Geneforge Forum and gives him a note inviting him to Nioca's citadel. After securing Jewels' keys in the secret basement of the citadel, Nioca proceeds to take a brief rest.
A Rare Sight Indeed (Vergil)
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Vergil ponders whether to go through with his assignment when he realizes something (Aryll) is following him. He decides to high-tail it to the Fire Plane, where he joins up with a fellow assassin and prepares to go through with his assignment.
Embracing Destiny (Jewels)
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Nioca's actions leave Jewels in a heated rage; she reappears over the ashen tree as pure elemental flame. She gains a new hatred of humanity, regarding them to be murderers. She goes to the Fire Plane and meets with her father, Cinead.
Accepted Invitation (Nalyd)
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Nalyd gets Nioca's note and creates a new Battle Alpha. He then proceeds to Nioca's Citadel.
Splitting Up
Of What Was, What Is, and What Should Have Been (Nioca)
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Nioca awakens to find that Jewels, Robsta, Nalyd, w-dueck, and Vergil having a picnic outside his citadel. Confused at how happy they seemed, he nevertheless joins them. Suddenly, crossbow bolts start flying. Jewels, w-dueck, and Robsta all get hit, and affected by some sort of enchantment that causes a red glow and convulsions. The enchantment kills them. Nalyd and Vergil also get hit, but are unaffected. The shooter flees, and Vergil goes to the fallen body of his sister, Jewels. He resurrects her, but she comes back as a soul-less shell. Nioca realizes what hit them: Spiritkillers. Weapons capable of completely destroying a person's soul.
Aryll shows up and asks Nioca what's wrong. As Nioca starts screaming at her, he takes another glance at the carnage, only to discover it has disappeared. Nioca reels with vertigo, suddenly realizing that he had viewed an alternate timeline. It then occurs to him that the assassin is still there, and Nioca fends him off.
After some reflection, Nioca realized the assassin was after Blades designers and recruited Nalyd for an excursion.
The Work of a Lifetime (Nalyd)
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Using magic to enhance himself and quicken his movements, Nalyd works feverishly on his plans for a new creation. Human: Tier Two
The Service of a Sword (Robsta)
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Nioca recruits Robsta for the services of his sword on the excursion.
To Trap a Designer (w-dueck)
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w-dueck was recruited by Nioca to join him on his excursion but leaves before the others to check on some of his work as a designer. Unfortunately the same people who sent an assassin to Calamity Refuge to try to kill him, also sent people to lay in wait for him there. w-dueck is captured.
A Foiled Flame (Vergil)
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Vergil makes his first attempt to kill Cinead but chooses a time when Jewels is in his company. Jewels stops the assassination attempt and Vergil flees with his Blueblood partner.
No Son of Mine (Jewels)
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With the failed assassination attempt, Cinead insists that he must disown Vergil so Jewels signs some documents making her his sole heir.
Koronos of Ermaria (Nioca)
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Nioca transports his merry band of adventurers into Ermaria where they head for Koronos to bunk for the night. Nioca leaves the rest of the party during the night to travel to Gvelston Sanctuary.
Fixing the Errors (Nalyd)
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Nalyd reviews his creation plans then leaves the inn. Some Trakovites take notice and track him.
Change in Power
A New Fire Lord (Jewels)
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Jewels finds Vergil drinking himself into a stupor at a bar. She tries to convince him that there has to be another way to settle the dispute between Vergil's people and their father. Two official looking elementals walk up to them and read the Declaration of a New Fire Lord. Jewels asks Vergil who the new Fire Lord is and stands up stating, "I am!"
Greenskin (Robsta)
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Robsta gets into, or rather gets out of, a bar fight.
Fulfilling Duty, Missing Destiny (Vergil)
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The officials that had approached Vergil and Jewels told him he was wrong and that instead, Jewels would be the Fire Lord leaving them both in confusion. A flashback then shows how Vergil went back already to finish killing their father.
Keep Your Enemies Closer (Jewels)
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Jewels starts to realize the full impact of the official's words. Her father had been the Fire Lord. He had disowned Vergil to keep him from inheriting the throne. Vergil had already gone back to finish the assassination order and now, she had just been named ruler over all the fire plane. Vergil asked that she rescind the throne to him. She felt like she could forgive him, but after killing their father and an honest admittance that he would kill her if ordered, she didn't trust him with the future of their people. Still Jewels had no idea how to rule her people, so when more guards came to escort her to a briefing, she insisted Vergil go with her. She intended to keep this enemy as close as possible.
Eyes of Vision (Jewels)
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Jewels has a sort of out of body vision of w-dueck hanging in a prison cell somewhere. w-dueck experienced it, too.
To Consume By Fire (Nioca)
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Nioca meets with the priests at Gvleston and on coincidence, also meets the assassin that was previously at Calamity Refuge. He announced he was from the Vaw Retaliatory Power and that they had captured a designer (w-dueck) and was going to behead him along with the priestess Syla who their order had sent as an emmisary. Nioca killed the assassin then set out to save w-dueck and Syla. Along the way, he is attacked by a demon of living fire. A being that he claims has made him what he is. Though Nioca manages to kill the beast, his horse is killed leaving him stranded. In this moment, Nioca learns what powers he has in Ermaria, as a god. He transports himself to the town of Vaw just in time to save both of the accused.
Only a few short minutes afterwards, Nioca has another time vision where he sees the city in burning ruins. Living fire demons roam the streets. He learns that if he hadn't saved w-dueck, an attack on the city would have started earlier than planned. He comes out of the vision to fight the demons that have decided now is the time to start the attack. w-dueck is too drained to fight so Nioca does his best but ends up unconscious in w-dueck's arms with more demons advancing.
A Battle for Alpha (Nalyd)
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Nalyd and his alpha join in the battle against the demons that have started attacking the city.
Official Meetings (Vergil)
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Vergil and Jewels are sat down for a meeting with the Nobels of the fire plane when Vergil receives a message to have another private meeting with a Blueblood. They discuss 'taking down a general' in Ermaria.
The Reason for a War (Jewels)
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While Vergil is in the bathroom, Jewels is taken aside for a military briefing where the captains and General Growan explain the details of the war to her. Basically, the fire plane is dying, getting a few degrees colder each year to the point that an eventual ice age is feared. Their scientists have found a unique oil that would help bring the temperature back up to normal but it's only found on the water plane and they are refusing trade. Jewels also learned that they were attempting to take over Ermaria to use as a back up, somewhere their people could survive if it got too cold on the fire plane. Realizing that it would mean the destruction of everything and everyone else on the plane, she called for an immediate ceasefire in Ermaria. General Growan ignored her request though and insinuated that he would soon have Jewels killed and blame the death on Vergil.
It's Never a Good Time (Vergil)
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The captain Kaylas comes back to warn Vergil and Jewels of the planned attack. Kaylas spirits Jewels away while Vergil stays to take care of some soldiers that are trying to keep them from leaving.
Trust No One (Jewels)
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Not trusting Kaylas, her brother, or any of her own soldiers at the moment Jewels flees from Kaylas only to collapse a few blocks away from a poisoned dart to the neck.
Mercenary for Hire (Robsta)
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Robsta is awakened to a demon in his face and fights off a couple of them with Yirri and Aryll. Robsta also starts preparing for a larger battle that Nioca says is coming.
War Preparations (Nioca)
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Nioca decides that the best way to deal with both the problems of the demons attacking and the VRP killing designers is to show the VRP that designers can help Ermaria. He sets about to plan out the best way to defeat the demon army.
How a Battle is Won (Nalyd)
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Nalyd aids in the battle and General Growan strategizes how the living fire can win. His strategies fail, though, when he taken down by friendly fire.
Of BlueBloods and Balls (Vergil)
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Vergil arrives at Ermaria with a contingent of the 101st. They help to turn the tide in the battle at Koronos. When the battle is over, Vergil loses control of his shape-shifted form and snaps together into a tight ball. Nioca takes the Vergil ball with him.
Nioca's Final Chapter (Nioca)
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Though the battle was won, Nioca knew that the threat still remained. He decided he must take the fight to the demons. Using his designer powers, he covered himself in a multitude of protections and blessings and tore through the demons portal to their home world where he laid waste every demon he saw. Eventually he came to the Fire Lord's castle and throne room just as his blessings wore off.
Ceaseing Hostilities
The Price of Peace (Jewels)
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Jewels has been captured by the Water King, but he wants peace just as much as she does so they both call an immediate end to hostilities on both sides with no strings attached. The fire plane still needs the oil, though, so Jewels asks for a trade. King Sheldon hands her a contract detailing what he is willing to trade the oil for and what Cindead had refused. Though what he asks for disgusts her, she decides that the benefits outweigh her disgust and signs the contract. She returns to the fire plane with an installment of oil and news of the end of a war. She is greeted by carnage caused by a rogue mortal (Nioca) that has been captured and waits for her in the dungeons.
At the End of a Sword (Jewels)
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Jewels goes into the dungeons and is surprised to find Nioca there in chains. He doesn't recognize her while she is in her living fire form and stares daggers at her. She can see the hatred in his eyes for what she is and listens to his perceptions of her people. Jewels starts to fight with herself in her mind about what to do and decides she must let Nioca go. In an attempt to change his mind about her people, she gives him back his sword and stands unarmed in front of him starting to flame down and ready to reveal who she really is.
The Ends (Nioca)
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Staring at the demon (Jewels) Nioca is distraught over the fact that killing her will not end the threat as another Fire Lord would just take her place. He still lands her a fatal blow, though, right before Aryll appears and kills him with a lightning bolt. Nioca finds himself in the afterlife talking to his family when he is revived he remembers some of his brothers words. "Robsta is next." The assassin that Nioca had killed earlier had been revived and was attacking Robsta. Nioca arrived in time to stop his death, but the assassin got away. Everyone returned to Calamity Refuge to find it in ruins and Jewels wandering amongst them.
Death, Life, and a Day at the Spa (Jewels)
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Kaylas finds Jewels with her fatal wound but he has sent all the healers to the military camps. He can tell she wouldn't last that long so at her request, he takes her to Calamity Refuge where she is absorbed into a tree as she dies. Full of rage, Kaylas unleashes his anger on the surrounding buildings and burns everything, including the tree Jewels was in, before he leaves thinking her gone forever. But Jewels isn't dead, the tree has healed her. She wakes up and wanders aimlessly until the rest of the members come back to the refuge asking her what happened. Jewels soon realizes that she's late for making her trade with King Sheldon and drags w-dueck around on the internet plane to help get her ready. He takes her to a spa and there she tells him everything, including that she has agreed to give King Sheldon an heir that can share the water and fire thrones. They make their way to the water plane and stand before the king.
Unfurled (Vergil)
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Nioca, Nalyd, and Robsta restore Vergil to normal form so that he can help rebuild the refuge. Vergil does his part happily getting it 84% restored by the time w-dueck comes back. But w-dueck takes only one minute to restore the whole thing to it's original form.
Song for the Lonely (Nioca)
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Nioca and Syla take care of a spam beast problem in the Blades of Avernum forum and Nioca returns Jewels' Admin keys apologizing for not being that good of a friend.
Foreboding: Past, Present, and Future (w-dueck)
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w-dueck reminisces about escaping from his father the Duke when he decided his rebellious son had crossed the line to treason and Jewels is ushered in to give King Sheldon a grandson.
A Reason to Glow (Jewels)
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Jewels fulfills her part of the trade mating with Prince Darius and heads back to the fire plane to find Kaylas. He's not very understanding so Jewels leaves intending not to go back since her real home is Calamity Refuge.
