The Affair of the Third Armament
The Master of the Battlefield wielded two mighty weapons, each an embodiment of the Corrivality. Now another armament bearing his name has surfaced in Granada, one the Birds and the Worms alike wish to use.
Aspects
- Relevance: Sky
- Relevance: Forge
- Incident
Visitors: Sky
| Visitor | Start | Failure | Success | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lic Enrique Esquivel | ’Formally, we do not recognize the Birds of a Feather nor the Worms of a Scale as political entities, owing to the Duties. However, with the War, those formalities have been suspended.' | 'I’ve been chosen to establish diplomatic channels with the new government the Birds built. However, this business with the armament, the Birds flocking to seats of power… it leaves me uneasy.' | 'I fear this business to be a trap laid by the Rising Spider. The people back home won’t understand that title, but weaving a tale of conspiracy around this ordeal should help keep us out of its web.‘ | Senator Esquivel suspected the armament to be part of a plot of the Rising Spider, and decided to distance his government from the Birds who wish to attain it. |
| Sra Paloma Silva | ’The Obliviates, as a rule, do not get involved in the wars of the Birds and Worms. Still, it’s hard for some to shed old sympathies.' | 'The Long of Noon have been growing anxious about the War - enough that a few are considering breaking the Iron Chain. With the conflict in Spain settled down, I think they might feel emboldened enough to go through with it. If I cannot discourage them, I can at least try to cover their tracks… or ensure their actions are not traced back to Noon.' | 'With the War in the World intensifying, the chance of a War in the Sun increases. If the Hours war once more, I’m almost certain some Long will side with their patron Hour, if only to protect their immortality. As for me? I simply wish to keep Noon in one piece.‘ | As the possibility of a War in the Sun looms, Paloma committed herself to keeping Port Noon whole as tensions build between its Long. |
| ‘Libreng Ibon' | 'I am not one to tread where the world’s skin is still tender, but my patron’s curiosity must go before my caution.' | 'Is this armament truly a third, or is it a double of its sibling? Or perhaps this armament is the original, and the other the duplicate. I must first discern if a contradiction exists here, and afterwards, discover how it may be resolved.' | 'It is not a double now, but it will turn to one side very soon. To which side, I cannot say - Tizona or Colada - Lionsmith or Colonel - but when the conflict resolves, my patron urge me to attain it. He teaches as such: ‘After the war, the harvest.” | Believing the armament would soon change to mimic one of its sibling-weapons, Libreng Ibon resolved to watch over proceedings in Granada for the sake of his patron, the Beachcomber. |
Visitors: Forge
| Visitor | Start | Failure | Success | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lady Audrey Leigh Howard | ’My contacts informed me of this armament, and of its unusual solar qualities.' | 'Very little of the Sun’s radiance survived the Intercalate, and what has remains a precious resource. Such a resource is wasted on those still licking their wounds, so I wish to salvage it for higher purposes.' | 'The Worms and Birds alike have raised issue with the gods-from-steel of my homeland, but if they wish to cling to the old order, they shall waste alongside it. Institutions such as yours contribute far more to the future than any of their petty squabbles.‘ | Lady Audrey disdained the idea of the Birds or the Worms making use of the armament, seeking instead to repurpose it for the new Hours of her homeland, the gods-from-steel. |
| Mr Manly Longshadow | ’I had hoped this armament to only be of historical interest. However, it seems a bit of the Sun’s radiance lingers in its alloys… a powerful and volatile radiance.' | 'If the Sun’s old power is allowed to persist, someone will inevitably use it. If I can disperse it before then, we can buy ourselves a little peace, but even the Sun’s shadow is a tenacious thing.' | 'Using theoplasmic techniques against an Hour-remnant is unorthodox, but rare problems require rare solutions. Let us hope this keeps the world a little quieter. We have enough war as it is.‘ | Manly planned to rid the armament of the Sun’s old power in order to prevent its use. |
| Subcomandante Zuazo | ’The Worms - the Red Worms - have sent us a rather daring proposal.' | 'This new armament appears unbound to any powers of the Corrivality, and the Worms hope to bend it towards their cause. I can help shape its loyalties. I just require a sufficient heat.' | 'When fires burn strong, even those who set them struggle to control the flame. The embers of revolution still haven’t settled. If I use them to temper the metal, it’s sure to inflame new fervor in the citizenry, and make the land ripe for war once more.‘ | At the request of the Red Worms, Subcomandante Zuazo attempted to infuse the armament with ‘the embers of revolution’ to stir an insurgent fervor in the people. |
Faculty Consultations
| Faculty | Start | Finish | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shura the Pythian | ’The wars waged by Hours occur in the Heart as much as they occur in the World. That is how they know each other, and that is how we know them, even if such knowledge consumes us in the end.' | 'The Meniscate has touched the hearts of many Hours, long before she ever was one. Even her master’s heart. Perhaps she foresaw his perfect balance with the Forge. Perhaps they did achieve it, if only for a moment. But moments never last. So the tides change, the blades fall, the war ends. And she continues her work all the while.‘ | Lesson: Meniscate Reflections |
| La Magdalena | Cats do not care much for politics, but the mention of weapons makes needles of her pupils, and I find it oddly difficult to hold her gaze. I begin to wonder if it is me she’s even looking at… | Behind me, In the ceiling, a corner of yellowed paper. I pull it out to find a closed eye in the style of the Ordo Limiae, and mottos to ‘Clip the Bird’ and ‘Cut the Worm’ for the sake of their order’s oaths. Evidently, this poster did little to scrub oneiropolitical influence from their members. But even so, they mostly keep it to grumbling over drinks and whispered debates these days. | Lesson: Sacra Limiae |
| Charles Lacombe | ’Always looking to make weapons of everything. Of storms, of music, of courage. But the weapon you can hold remains the most practical.' | 'Loyalty is a blade, sharpened by trust, broken by betrayal. Choice is the Lionsmith’s first weapon, do you understand? Why else make monsters which deny you? Because he treats his children as more than tools, something the Colonel never did. That is how he strives.‘ | Lesson: Disciplines of the Hammer |
| I Who Did-Still-Will Continue | ’…What fires require… the tinder, the fuel, the spark… here is iron… here is steel…' | '…blessed by the Hours… fight below themselves… an Hour brings certainty… when colors to remain in uncertainty… there is History’s true power…’ | Lesson: Purifications & Exaltations |