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CHANGE UR AVATAR NOW!!!!
you cant use that until a new incentive comes out!

Not much more to add, at this point. Though this might be the shot of the three generals that was requested earlier.

Yeah, this is a pretty jerk thing for the General to do, and it certainly is going to force Keith's hand. I'm still leaning towards mental break down. Let's see Keith go into catatonic shock, while Natani lights the candle and fakes her own death to protect him. :P It's either that or she ends up killing a whole lot of people. That's my preferred end to it all.

Hrm..Now, do I use this, only change when it happens, or ignore it like I am Laura... Decisions, decisions...

That, and auronblades promised swift vengance on anyone who would snatch it as an avatar before him.

You know, something we haven't considered is playing the guard's comments straight: The towers have been causing the Generals to act erratically and give strange orders, except for Alaric, who's always been like this. Alaric, and arguably Keith, are apparently among the precious few Basitin who possess what we'd consider "normally active" libidos. We know that Basitins have the laws they do to avoid arousal, as it upsets their mental balance, but an individual like Alaric has had to develop coping mechanisms to operate in Basitin society despite having interest and attraction to others more often than society dictates. What if the tower is disrupting the emotional calm of the Basitins near it? Play it straight -- Alaric doesn't even notice any difference: he's got magic now, but he can't tell any sorts of other side effects because he's always had to deal with his emotions and desires. Maybe he's turned on a little easier than before, but that could just be excitement about Keith's return. But for the other Generals, they can't handle the emotional strain. They've had a lifetime where they haven't needed discipline to maintain emotional equilibrium -- the laws pretty much did it for them. Now, the tower's influence is causing all manner of disruption, causing them to behave irrationally. Eventually, this breakdown will make a normal Basitin's mind simply crumble. But someone like Alaric or Keith? They've had to learn to deal with emotion and desire on their own. They can adapt, survive.

Just wait until the epic climax when Keith channels the tower's energy himself to rescue Trace. Magic is about enforcing your will on the world around you. As willful and determined as the Basitins are in general, they have not really needed to hone that will to a razor's edge, not like Keith or Alaric has. That will gives order to the chaos of magic. Without the ability to sort rationality from emotion, order cannot be given to this chaos, and entropy will win.

For the love of a woman, Euphemural's plan failed. For the love of another woman, the Templar's plan will crumble.

Hmm thats quite an interesting theory and I'm going to modify it just a bit, hope you don't mind :wink:

The only difference between the Basitin and all the other races (mentally at least) is that Basitin repress their emotions to the point where their emotions are only reactions to the law (including during mating season because its the law after all). So perhaps the reason Alaric (and keith though he has only been subjected to the tower for a short period) hasn't been altered is because the tower targets this repression of emotion, Alaric has more than proven he isn't averse to showing emotion. As the guard said, Alaric has always been like that and he doesn't seem to be acting any stranger, and for all we know the tower hasn't effected keith or any of the other races. (My long term example would be Laura).

It makes perfect sense because how else would you bring about chaos in the Basitin kingdom while at the same time leaving the templars to do their work.

Yeah, but the thing is, if he channels too much without realizing it, Keith goes boom (supernova style), and since he's never channeled it before, who's to tell how it would turn out. I say Keith breaks down and tells Natani the whole story, what's happened to Trace, and whatnot, they tell Flora, and the three destroy the people trying to kidnap Trace.

So, are you saying that, due to Keith's and Alaric's actually being the only bastians with active libidos, that they would make for the best Basitin mages? They're used to the emotions the tower is technically using to "corrupt" the Basitins?

Does that mean the epic battle I anticipate being a master battlemage (Warrior plus magic) dual? With Natani and Trace, users of magic, there to make things more interesting?

Natani would obviously be on Keith's side of the dual, but Trace may be corrupted, trying to annihilate everyone.

Very intresting, as allways avwolf. Though I will have to disagree with you at two points.

Keith and Alaric may very well be the two most suited Basitins for handeling magic due to having "normal" libidos. But I'm doubtfull on the matter of Keith being able to channel the tower's massive amounts of magic. Just because you're best suited for it, doesen't mean that you can do it just like that. He would at best probably suffer mental damage, or in the worst senario possible, to quote Bane Dragon: Keith goes boom (supernova style).

And the Templars plan will not crumble. Not the way things are looking now. There is no chance that Keith and co. would be able to take on all of the Templars guarding the tower on their own. They would have to convince the whole Basitin population that the Templars are evil, and that isn't an easy task. Remember, the Templars are supposed to give them the gift to weild magic as far as they know. Why would they listen to a once banished kindren and his friends?
My personal beleif is that the tower will be completed, and Keith and co. will have to flee. Lady Nora might stall the Basitins for long enough for all I know.

More or less, yes. I think there are probably others, but they will be precious few in number.


Now that would be something. I sure wouldn't mind seeing a big throwdown like that. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Alaric vs. Keith in a grand match of swordplay and wizardry would be quite the thing to witness.


I never said it would go as planned or work out really well. Honestly, I figure that Keith would be acting on raw emotion at that moment, venting himself through magical excess, not unlike what Evil Trace does at time. I expect him to blow a batch of things up and then collapse from exhaustion as soon as the battle's over, forcing Natani to drag him out as the party escapes onrushing Basitin forces.


I don't think that the Templar's plan has anything to do with the Basitins supporting them. I expect that this tower will be destroyed, and the whole of the Eastern Basitin nation will head after Keith and the others with vengeance in their eyes. Maybe the Templar will be exposed as duplicitous monsters, and perhaps they won't. Maybe, in the end, they aren't. I don't know. But that has nothing to do with the Templar plan to use Trace to activate this tower and bring about the downfall of the Basitins. At this point, all Keith has to do is interfere. If he goes to rescue Trace, the plans of the Templar are not going to work out. Not as the Templar would like, certainly. There's a huge difference between ruining their plans and utterly defeating them, after all. Besides, by Randal's words, he's the only full Templar there. Everyone else is simply students, and so far the party hasn't had trouble dealing even with small groups of trained Templar soldiers. And it discounts the interference of the Master Spy and Randall. Who knows what they're going to do? There's a lot that could happen. The Templar are in a position of great power, but that doesn't mean that their plans are foolproof. The last time Trace was near a tower, he exploded it. I expect this to work out similarly, though Randall's further improvement on Trace's original plans will make the tower significantly more difficult to simply blow up.

This seems like a more realistic senario. But I'm still counting on a little show from "Evil Trace" before it's all over. The tower's magic is bound to have some kind of negative effect on him, and likely draw out his old personality. Wich will probably make the situation even more difficult for Keith and the others. Imagine, first of all taking care of the Master Architect, then somehow bring Trace back to his senses, and finally destroying the tower. All of this before the Basitin forces are able to interfere. It is going to be intresting, no doubt.



I must have somehow forgotten the part about all the other constructors being merely students. But I can't for my life remember when Trace and co. took on several Templars in direct battle. The only time I can recall was when that single Templar was threathening Flora, and Trace found his powers once again for a short period of time.
No doubt they probably could if Trace had full controll over his powers, but otherwise I find it unlikely to be honest. The Templars appear to be both skillfull in melee combat and spellcasting. And would therefore prove to be worthy opponents to Keith and Natani, being the only fighters in the party exept for Trace, himself being a Templar.

I fully expect "Evil Trace" to get some action, so I sincerely doubt you'll be disappointed. I'm not sure how it'll all come out though, since he's a big, magic, "WIN" button like that.

I have to wonder how much the Templar students will be involved. Some of them will undoubtedly get into the battle, but many of them might choose to run and hide instead. Randall might well order them to take cover until it's all over, depending on their capabilities. Right now, I don't think we know enough to really say for sure what the final fight's going to shape up to look like. It's even possible (though perhaps not likely) that Alaric will join Keith, Natani, and Flora in fighting against the Templar. Or, maybe, a magically crazed Trace will close in on the party, helpless against him and barely holding their own against the chaotic mess of the Basitin forces, driven to a mad bloodlust by the Templar magic. Just as he reaches them and prepares to cast Erase Life ("Disenvitae," as I like to call it), Alaric swings in on an enormous crane, crashing into Trace from behind and knocking him unconscious. Yeah, I can't resist Deux ex machina jokes when Alaric's involved.

I think you mean broad. :-) :-) :-)


My apologies... couldn't resist.


Back to the topic: Perhaps with all the tower-induced hormonal urges, Keith will rustle up a bunch of the (subtleseed flower? I forget...) that was burning in the town that made everyone... ah... excited. Probably doesn't have time, even with Lady Nora helping.

The chances for a succesfull rescue operation are certainly looking slim at the moment. And God, do I love those three words. Deus Ex Machina. There something magcial about them that just makes my soul jump in exitement.

I wonder how much of a fight Randal himself may be able to put up though. He is obviously nowhere close to as powerfull as Trace, but he is after all the Master Architect. We simply don't have enough information about him, or the other Templar masters for that matter, to know this for sure. But I have a feeing he's going to put up one hell of a fight himself, if he decides to engage Ketih and co. in battle that is.

Trace will most likely be the behind the scenes/destroy everything in sight without being seen villain until Keith, Laura, and Natani almost obliterates a general (Intelligence most likely), leaving their crippled body behind in mercy before Trace magically shows up and finishes him off. Flora will be nearby looking for Trace, of course, but I doubt she'll be in the main fighting, possibly saving Basitins from Trace's wrath to show off some of her blossoming maternal instincts before the baby is even figured out. However, I doubt their love can save him at this point though, due to Flora and Trace's fight just before his capture.

Alaric though will obviously be the only general left standing at the climax of the battle though, maybe even take out the 'WIN" button Trace as you said, so he can either join or take down Keith himself.

I feel the Arms general is under developed at this point. He's really an important character in all this. He took Keith's father's own job even. Though, that makes him great to develop in battle. He's also the least intelligent as well, making him a great puppet for the templar. he'll either be the second or last general (or both at the same time depending on Alaric's decision) to die. Alabaster, thanks to Tom focusing on his development early as the grouchy old stubborn man he is, is certainly marked for death at this point. Strange, the intelligence general dying first, though.

Text wall is big. :o