With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Sockmonkey]

Is it possible for OL to construct a replacement lantern in this dimension? I forget if he can do it on less than one charge.

 

[Lord Ernest]

So did the Illustres asks or found out why and/or how his doppelganger died? Or was he not interested?

If the Dark Elves were trying to resurrect him, I would assume he was their ally or something.

 

[Ngamer11]

Fortuntely, Ashan SI managed to do that before dying.

Click to shrink...

Good to hear he died doing something good rather than dying like a chump. I suppose that explains why those elves were trying to resurrect him.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Good to hear he died doing something good rather than dying like a chump. I suppose that explains why those elves were trying to resurrect him.

Click to shrink...

Oh, no, he didn't die doing that. He survived that and then died like a chump. Just, you know, a useful chump.

 

[Lazurman]

Aw, lookit you go, Paul. Making new friends. Hope he gets to keep 'em when he's done with this place.

Though it is decidedly rather odd that there's a Heroes of Might & Magic arc in the mainline story instead of an omake.

Given how much he seems to have played the game, perhaps the spell did something wonky and brought a simulation of the world to life based on his memories?

 

[Vaermina]

Is it possible for OL to construct a replacement lantern in this dimension? I forget if he can do it on less than one charge.

Click to shrink...

If I remember right the last time OL tried to make a Lantern it ended up a sagging mess.

 

[Darko]

If I remember right the last time OL tried to make a Lantern it ended up a sagging mess.

Click to shrink...

He's gotten better at making them.

 

[monochromaticPrism]

Sooo... since I didn't see it brought up before now, if they have cast any sort of preservation magic on him the local Paul isn't *really* dead. What we call dead is really "beyond our ability to resuscitate", at least until the body is sufficiently decomposed. For example, cut someone's head off and people will tell you they are dead, yet experiments during the French revolution found that the severed head continued to blink for 15-30 seconds.

Now, if someone is what we consider "beyond resuscitation" it's almost entirely due to the halting of biological processes leading to cell death, which itself is really the buildup of toxins, background chemicals becoming the wrong concentrations, and the denaturing(think broken car, not destroyed car) of proteins necessary for performing life functions. It's not until the bacteria *really* get under way that tissue is actually destroyed to a significant degree. If we had the ability to reach into each individual cell in a person's body and repair the damage + reset the chemical gradient that would "return them to life", although really it would be "stop them from dying" at a point beyond our normal maximum.

I think I remember it being established early on that a soulless but sapient/sentient clone of Paul couldn't be made in the DC universe due to it being antithetical to the rules of the setting (and the existence of souls also preventing this kind of extreme healing from working after the fact on other characters, or at least not on its own) however in this case we have the original body with what sounds like minimal damage, so it should be possible for OL to give his other-self a second chance at... whatever it is he was up to in this setting. Getting stabbed for annoying people, at a minimum.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Aw, lookit you go, Paul. Making new friends. Hope he gets to keep 'em when he's done with this place.

Though it is decidedly rather odd that there's a Heroes of Might & Magic arc in the mainline story instead of an omake.

Given how much he seems to have played the game, perhaps the spell did something wonky and brought a simulation of the world to life based on his memories?

Click to shrink...

You just wait to see where he's going next.

Getting stabbed for annoying people, at a minimum.

Click to shrink...

When you're as vulnerable to magic as he is, even spells like Slow can do nasty things to your insides.

 

[Ngamer11]

When you're as vulnerable to magic as he is, even spells like Slow can do nasty things to your insides.

Click to shrink...

So he was accidentally killed because the caster didn't know he was extra vulnerable to magic?

 

[BR549]

Sooo... since I didn't see it brought up before now, if they have cast any sort of preservation magic on him the local Paul isn't *really* dead.

Click to shrink...

Remember what Miracle Max taught us: there's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead...

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th August 2013
10:14 GMT -5

Yeah, it turns out that the War of the Sixth Eclipse was every bit as distasteful in reality as I remember if from the game. What happened to Queen Isabel is just horrific. Her wedding interrupted by a demon invasion, her betrothed killed, the kingdom resisting her rule, the wizard who claimed that he was able to resurrect her husband raising him as a vampire who immediately tried to eat her, the man who killed her husband getting her general on side to overthrow her, her getting kidnapped and raped by the Demon Sovereign…

I mean, I assume raped. They had a child. But I suppose the child could have been created through a ritual?

And whatever happened resulted in her soul getting ripped out, so a demon took her place in the Empire while she happily went off with the man who killed her betrothed… And then Arantir eventually released her soul, wrecking the demons' spells and causing her to come to her senses… At which point she renounced the throne and… Went back to the man who killed her betrothed, because… I guess Stockholm Syndrome exists in Ashan?

"Is Raelag an expert in mind control magics?"

Lushun looks a little awkward. "Not according to any account I have heard. I admit, the former queen's conduct does seem a little… Strange. But men with no real grudge against one another may slay each other in times of war. If Clan Chief Raelag nursed her through her… During her time of hardship, it is not so unthinkable that genuine affection might develop."

Valdrieth the Vampire just nods. "I always assumed that her soul never went back to her body. If it went to Elrath and her empty body simply agrees with the last thing it heard, it makes far more sense."

"Then Arantir tracks down the son of Kha-Beleth and Isabelle, who's a teenager. The teenager then fights his army and then him, and kills them all. And if Arantir hasn't gotten up again by now then he's probably not going to."

Valdrieth shrugs. "Not in the short term. His return would put an end to…" He looks out across the armies arrayed across the swamps of Heresh. "This. As it is, soldiers and demon cultists from Stonehelm hold much of the interior of Nar-Heresh."

"Including this building?" He nods. "So why are you still here?"

"I can't teleport far enough to get down, and I'm not well-fed enough to survive the fall." He looks down over the edge. "I was considering climbing it, but they have imps, and arquebusiers at the windows."

"Right. Do you want to be dropped off anywhere in particular?"

He shrugs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving Ashan. Lushun?"

"How could I not come with you? It's an opportunity for unparalleled learning!"

"Fine, as long as you understand that I can't bring you back. Valdrieth?"

"No, just leave me at the siege lines. None of the claimants will take issue with my former loyalties."

"As you wish. Three two one."

Our surroundings flicker and the next instant we're surrounded by mud and dying trees and armoured vampires.

"Good luck!"

Another flicker and Lushun and I are back in the air.

"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"I wouldn't-."

"There he is." Our surroundings flicker a third time as we appear in front of the duo, and I raise my left hand in greeting. "Excuse me!"

"-be so.. sure."

Xana the succubus immediately conjures fire into her hands, while Sareth-.

I'm not sure what he's doing, but paying the main character more attention seems like a good idea. The staff is on his back, while his hands hold a bastard sword and a pistol bow. Their horses stop-.

Oh. So that's what -2 morale feels like. The Cloak of Death's Shadow is one of my favourite items with any hero, and now that I take its pushed back position into account… Yes, that's it.

"I come in peace!"

Xana's eyes narrow. "Oh really. Then why are you wearing a dead man's face?"

"Ah. You… Met my doppelgänger. That's… Complicated. As far as I understand it, he and I are both equal continuations of the same life… I'm not totally certain how I came to be on Ashan, while I… Assume that he arrived a few years ago? His ring-" I hold out my hands, rings glowing. "-wouldn't have had much power left by now, if-."

"A copy." Xana lowers her hands slightly, glancing at Sareth for direction. He… Appears to be considering me. "And what do you want?"

"Death's Embrace." She perks up slightly, the fires in her hands intensifying. "The set of magic items. I don't want you to try and kill me."

The fire dims again. "What for?"

"The Staff, to aid in my attempt to leave Ashan. The rest, because as I understand it they're designed to work with the Staff." I look around. "You don't appear to be leading an army. Might I ask your intentions?"

Xana sneers at me. "I want to take command of whatever demons are left on the surface of Ashan and establish a kingdom for us to rule. But my beloved Sareth wants to visit his mother's homeland. He is the heir to the Greyhound Duchy after all."

"Ah. Okay. And Arantir's equipment? If you're not trained as a necromancer, it won't do you much good. And I imagine that the priests of the Holy… Unicorn Empire will recognise them after all that time Markal spent using them."

"He could just destroy them. That should earn their favour. If he wanted it."

Lushun looks worried. "I wouldn't recommend that. Destroying the Staff might well tear open a passage to the void, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

"As an alternative, I can offer a cart filled with gold and jewels, some really high quality swords and suits of armour, a device to conceal your… Demonic appearance, and a high quality pistol. I'll take the artefacts with me when I leave Ashan so they won't be a threat to anyone still here."

"A cart? On roads like these?"

"Alright, a cart with thick pneumatic tyres made of rubber and incorporating a spring suspension system. I can't promise that it won't get stuck, but it should handle the conditions better than a cart with solid wooden wheels. And I can carry you to the Greyhound Duchy and drop you off, and you can witness my departure for yourselves."

I look directly at Sareth and raise my hands, palms upwards.

"Or is there something else that you'd like? I'm open to negotiation."

He continues looking at me for a moment, and then nods. "I think that there is."

 

[Mr Zoat]

So he was accidentally killed because the caster didn't know he was extra vulnerable to magic?

Click to shrink...

The caster didn't specifically mean to kill them with that particular spell.

 

[Duke Long]

"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be to hard to find."

Click to shrink...

'too'

That was surprisingly easy. Was he already nearby, or was he just unwarded? Or did Oh El just do some sort of massive optical scan of the continent?

You just wait to see where he's going next.

Click to shrink...

Maybe Oh El will be 'Changing Lanes' between multiple fictional settings?

 

[Rebu]

It's kind of funny that this is set after the only game in the entire franchise that I'm actually familiar with. Because I've watched A let's play.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

18th August 2013
10:14 GMT -5

Yeah, it turns out that the War of the Sixth Eclipse was every bit as distasteful in reality as I remember if from the game. What happened to Queen Isabel is just horrific. Her wedding interrupted by a demon invasion, her betrothed killed, the kingdom resisting her rule, the wizard who claimed that he was able to resurrect her husband raising him as a vampire who immediately tried to eat her, the man who killed her husband getting her general on side to overthrow her, her getting kidnapped and raped by the Demon Sovereign…

Click to shrink...

Sounds like a right conga line of trauma. Just one hit after another... Still, good to know his metaknowledge is accurate to the course of events here. So he won't be operating in unknown circumstances.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

I mean, I assume raped. They had a child. But I suppose the child could have been created through a ritual?

Click to shrink...

Or a magical disguise. She was probably so emotionally and mentally broken by that point she'd clutch to anything happy.

And whatever happened resulted in her soul getting ripped out, so a demon took her place in the Empire while she happily went off with the man who killed her betrothed… And then Arantir eventually released her soul, wrecking the demons' spells and causing her to come to her senses… At which point she renounced the throne and… Went back to the man who killed her betrothed, because… I guess Stockholm Syndrome exists in Ashan?

Click to shrink...

...Wow, okay... That is a right effed-up timeline.

"Is Raelag an expert in mind control magics?"

Lushun looks a little awkward. "Not according to any account I have heard. I admit, the former queen's conduct does seem a little… Strange. But men with no real grudge against one another may slay each other in times of war. If Clan Chief Raelag nursed her through her… During her time of hardship, it is not so unthinkable that genuine affection might develop."

Click to shrink...

I get the impression Raelag is not that nice a fellow.

Valdrieth the Vampire just nods. "I always assumed that her soul never went back to her body. If it went to Elrath and her empty body simply agrees with the last thing it heard, it makes far more sense."

"Then Arantir tracks down the son of Kha-Beleth and Isabelle, who's a teenager. The teenager then fights his army and then him, and kills them all. And if Arantir hasn't gotten up again by now then he's probably not going to."

Click to shrink...

Heh. Their theories sound like forum-goers offering possible explanations for clearly insane actions.

Valdrieth shrugs. "Not in the short term. His return would put an end to…" He looks out across the armies arrayed across the swamps of Heresh. "This. As it is, soldiers and demon cultists from Stonehelm hold much of the interior of Nar-Heresh."

"Including this building?" He nods. "So why are you still here?"

Click to shrink...

Ah. He's stuck there, unable to fight his way out down the stairs, and...

"I can't teleport far enough to get down, and I'm not well-fed enough to survive the fall." He looks down over the edge. "I was considering climbing it, but they have imps, and arquebusiers at the windows."

"Right. Do you want to be dropped off anywhere in particular?"

Click to shrink...

...Could definitely use a lift, then.

He shrugs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving Ashan. Lushun?"

Click to shrink...

And given the common knowledge of the world, that must sound a little bit insane.

"How could I not come with you? It's an opportunity for unparalleled learning!"

"Fine, as long as you understand that I can't bring you back. Valdrieth?"

Click to shrink...

Heh. He seems a promising fellow. Wonder if he'll stick with OL back on Earth Sixteen, or seek other sources to learn from...

"No, just leave me at the siege lines. None of the claimants will take issue with my former loyalties."

"As you wish. Three two one."

Our surroundings flicker and the next instant we're surrounded by mud and dying trees and armoured vampires.

Click to shrink...

Most of whom are probably jumping in surprise at the sudden appearance. Then reaching for weapons until they recognise the vamp.

"Good luck!"

Another flicker and Lushun and I are back in the air.

Click to shrink...

Well, one more sidequest completed. Pity OL is too high-level to get XP for this stuff.

"Alright, so, Sareth: a pale skinned human with a short beard, wearing full plate, accompanied by a succubus, carrying a glowing staff whose head is cracking with purple lightning. Shouldn't be to hard to find."

"I wouldn't-."

Click to shrink...

If his theft was recent enough and he didn't have teleportation magic, he'd be somewhere nearby. A horse can only travel so far and fast before needing rest and feed.

"There he is." Our surroundings flicker a third time as we appear in front of the duo, and I raise my left hand in greeting. "Excuse me!"

"-be so.. sure."

Click to shrink...

Ah, easy as. His Rings making short work of travel times, I see.

Xana the succubus immediately conjures fire into her hands, while Sareth-.

I'm not sure what he's doing, but paying the main character more attention seems like a good idea. The staff is on his back, while his hands hold a bastard sword and a pistol bow. Their horses stop-.

Oh. So that's what -2 morale feels like. The Cloak of Death's Shadow is one of my favourite items with any hero, and now that I take its pushed back position into account… Yes, that's it.

Click to shrink...

Interesting. A fear-causing effect that debuffs morale. If Sinestro got his hands on stuff like that, his Corps would be greatly enhanced...

"I come in peace!"

Xana's eyes narrow. "Oh really. Then why are you wearing a dead man's face?"

Click to shrink...

I'd say he has no choice in the matter, but there are necromancers about. A face transplant doesn't sound all that unlikely...

"Ah. You… Met my doppelgänger. That's… Complicated. As far as I understand it, he and I are both equal continuations of the same life… I'm not totally certain how I came to be on Ashan, while I… Assume that he arrived a few years ago? His ring-" I hold out my hands, rings glowing. "-wouldn't have had much power left by now, if-."

Click to shrink...

Why do I get the feeling they killed him, and have his Ring?

"A copy." Xana lowers her hands slightly, glancing at Sareth for direction. He… Appears to be considering me. "And what do you want?"

"Death's Embrace." She perks up slightly, the fires in her hands intensifying. "The set of magic items. I don't want you to try and kill me."

Click to shrink...

Got to watch that phrasing in a world with legendary artifacts around.

The fire dims again. "What for?"

"The Staff, to aid in my attempt to leave Ashan. The rest, because as I understand it they're designed to work with the Staff." I look around. "You don't appear to be leading an army. Might I ask your intentions?"

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't be surprised to find it also makes a quite fetching set of vanity armour. Wouldn't be surprised if lesser necromancers copied the look.

Xana sneers at me. "I want to take command of whatever demons are left on the surface of Ashan and establish a kingdom for us to rule. But my beloved Sareth wants to visit his mother's homeland. He is the heir to the Greyhound Duchy after all."

"Ah. Okay. And Arantir's equipment? If you're not trained as a necromancer, it won't do you much good. And I imagine that the priests of the Holy… Unicorn Empire will recognise them after all that time Markal spent using them."

Click to shrink...

And naturally suffer significant diplomacy maluses towards the wearer. The kind that make you start at 'kill on sight' status.

"He could just destroy them. That should earn their favour. If he wanted it."

Lushun looks worried. "I wouldn't recommend that. Destroying the Staff might well tear open a passage to the void, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

Click to shrink...

Especially if it allows some form of external entities to invade... That might make the creator goddess doing something drastic to the region to undo it.

"As an alternative, I can offer a cart filled with gold and jewels, some really high quality swords and suits of armour, a device to conceal your… Demonic appearance, and a high quality pistol. I'll take the artefacts with me when I leave Ashan so they won't be a threat to anyone still here."

Click to shrink...

That would be a crazy encounter in an RPG. Clearly-higher-level being pops up after you loot a boss, asking for items from their hoard. And in return, he offers loot of equivalent quality. I suspect some kinds of parties would be tempted to attack him to gain his stuff... Even with the DM going 'Are you sure? Are you really sure?'

"A cart? On roads like these?"

"Alright, a cart with thick pneumatic tyres made of rubber and incorporating a spring suspension system. I can't promise that it won't get stuck, but it should handle the conditions better than a cart with solid wooden wheels. And I can carry you to the Greyhound Duchy and drop you off, and you can witness my departure for yourselves."

Click to shrink...

I wonder if they even understand what those things are, but the tech level of these worlds tends to be a little scattered.

I look directly at Sareth and raise my hands, palms upwards.

"Or is there something else that you'd like? I'm open to negotiation."

He continues looking at me for a moment, and then nods. "I think that there is."

Click to shrink...

Oh boy. Bet there'll be something involving his mother, the former Queen.

OL wasting little to no time on sidequesting with his Rings' mobility. Need to be somewhere? Bam, you're there. I assume any loot he's offering would come from local villainous groups, which would take little to no effort on his part to acquire. Still, sometimes people want things that aren't so easy to get...

 

[NightmareWarden]

The sheeda may have been breeding spine riders in the swamp… Though that could have been Queen Gloriana Tenebrae's faction, Melmoth's faction, or just some sheeda who were left over from the last Harvest. Or maybe Zor had them as pets." Hm. "Yes, actually, they got out after Sargon fought him, so that's more plausible. According to Sargon's report, Zor was just doing evil for the fun of it. Which makes no sense to me, but…"

Click to shrink...

Went down a bit of a rabbit hole on Wikipedia. Apparently Solomon Grundy once used Green Light from repeated battles with a Green Lantern (Alan) to return to Earth from the moon. We know Grundy could have a connection to the Sheeda, and Zachary Zor's page notes they've been affected by the same factions before... Angel magic, OL, and Mazikeen on a new world with demons... It's possible Zachary Zor, who previously worked with angels, tracked down the Basanos. He might even be the tarot deck's host.

Boss Smiley can't be an angel, or Heaven would have known SOMETHING..I'm pretty confident that mentioning Boss Smiley's name is part of why this adventure is happening, but the actual cause eludes me. It's possible that... Okay, Paul submitted a list of sites to check up on a long time ago. Along with a list of artifacts to keep an eye out for, since villains stir up trouble with those. We know that The Light obtained League files when they mind controlled them. We know that the Light knows about Paul's death during the angel invasion, as well as his Lazarus pit experiments.

Did the Light trap such a site with the intent of catching Paul? Boss Smiley called them up and said "pull the trigger NOW NOW NOW"? I don't think this was related to Anarky's gang, although Question could POTENTIALLY rig something among Zachary Zor's artifacts to cause a reaction. Send OL off on an adventure while they pull a scheme? Maybe if they had a second magic-user. Could Zor's house react to some lingering trace magics from OL's contact with eb fake Arcane, Gamnemnae? Magicians like to protect themselves from other archwizards.

I'm stuck. This is probably a Lucifer/Vertigo comic plot, just swapping out an arbitrary dimension with HoMM's world. Mazikeen will probably learn something or gain some sort of motivation due to the demons here.

 

[Mr Zoat]

'too'

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

That was surprisingly easy. Was he already nearby, or was he just unwarded?

Click to shrink...

He was nearby. As noted, travelling long distance by horse isn't particularly fast, especially through difficult terrain.

It's kind of funny that this is set after the only game in the entire franchise that I'm actually familiar with. Because I've watched A let's play.

Click to shrink...

Dark Messiah is just about the only game in the franchise that it would be tollerable to watch a Let's Play of.

 

[WereDragon]

He continues looking at me for a moment, and then nods. "I think that there is."

Click to shrink...

Cue the sudden yet inevitable betrayal.

 

[steampvnc1880]

I wish that OL could pop on over to Erathia and break Armageddon's Blade over Gelu's head.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

Something just occured to me: Do the Slaughter Swamps of other universes also have a portal/anomaly that leads to this world? If so, then that means The Renegade, The Sybarite, Tangseid or Crime Syndicate Paul might also end up here if they decide to investigate Slaughter Swamp.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

Something just occured to me: Do the Slaughter Swamps of other universes also have a portal/anomaly that leads to this world? If so, then that means The Renegade, The Sybarite, Tangseid or Crime Syndicate Paul might also end up here if they decide to investigate Slaughter Swamp.

Click to shrink...

Reminds me of a Different Swamp.

The Nexus of All Realities, accessed via a patch of Florida guarded by Man-Thing, over in Marvel's side of the multiversal pond.

Things get a little strange down there.....even for Florida.