Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 040

[balder]

New One is up.

[vintermann]

OK, Wanda is deeply in fate-land now, but we really could guess that already. Nice parallel to Book 1 about the "easy way", "hard way" and the "really hard way".

The question now (for Balder, challenge :p) is how to get from here to a Wanda in Faq in a psychologically plausible manner. Maybe she gets a prediction from somewhere? Somehow, Haffaton must have access to predictamancy, or they wouldn't be so obsessed with getting Wanda in the first place. Or would they? After all, she will be their downfall too - presumably their predictamancy source neglected to leave in that detail.

[Whispri]

Refusing to provide information to put on a gravestone is a strange hill to die on.

[Morni]

I love the art for Wanda in this update.. so looks like she's been on the decline road for a long time.

But we know from Maggie, it doesn't need to take long to turn back into her younger self.

[vintermann]

Whispri: There is also the small matter of the location of Faq. There would be no way to tell of Chip's life without the question coming up.

[0beron]

Hmmmmm, wondering if Wanda's song is Rhyme-o-mancy of the magical sort, or just normal singing....I'd guess the former, but I can't figure out it's purpose (beyond helping turn Jillian perhaps)

[Kreistor]

Hmmmmm, wondering if Wanda's song is Rhyme-o-mancy of the magical sort, or just normal singing....I'd guess the former, but I can't figure out it's purpose (beyond helping turn Jillian perhaps)

Proving that she still has some humanity. If she is wearing the famished state to fool the Haffaton leadership in some way, she needs to keep herself from forgetting she is still human, with passions.

[MonteCristo]

Ya i really have to go against the "its all a dream/trimancer" theory that popped up... I wasn't sure what to think during the previous update, but this whole conversation seems to be coming from Wanda not with any influence from Olive. Seems to me that Wanda however blames herself for her brother's death which is why she claimed she croaked him; as far as she believed, she believes he croaked him when she chose the very hard way and he might still be alive had she chosen the easy way.

Refusing to provide information to put on a gravestone is a strange hill to die on.

What Jillian is doing is refusing to provide valuable information to the enemy that they could use to destroy the rest of Faq (which is what wanda is really after) as well as taking punishment for her past failures...
wow, you really can hate jillian for anything

[Nnelg]

A belayed update, but totally worth the wait in my opinion. (I doubt there'll be any complaints this time... )

Of note to me is the phrase "...in need of food, water, air, or latrine." It may just be a poetic choice of wording, but for some reason it reminds me strongly of the "needs" bars that characters have in The Sims. It makes me wonder if Erfworlders don't literally have something similar, as apposed to an actual biological system.

Maybe [Wanda] gets a prediction from somewhere?

Yeah, she does: from Faq's predictamancer.

We already know that Marie tells Wanda about a Prediction that she'll one day attune to an Arkentool. I had always wondered why such a vital piece of information would be told to one doomed to destroy the ones telling her it; but if that detail is what allows here to mentally and emotionally heal from the state she is in now then I totally understand why Marie couldn't just sit around and watch Wanda suffer.

Ya i really have to go against the "its all a dream/trimancer" theory that popped up...

So would I now (where before I was one of its proponents). Mostly because the odds of a surreal event being an illusion is inversely related to how long the supposed charade continues, and decreases sharply when the tone becomes more pragmatic as it has here.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised of at least some things turn out to be in her head, but unless it's plot-critical we'll probably never know.

[SteveMB]

OK, Wanda is deeply in fate-land now, but we really could guess that already. Nice parallel to Book 1 about the "easy way", "hard way" and the "really hard way".

The question now (for Balder, challenge :p) is how to get from here to a Wanda in Faq in a psychologically plausible manner.

Hmmm... the obvious path from here to there is for Jillian to convince Wanda that turning and going home with her is "the very easy way" (another parallel to the interrogation scene) -- the catch is a psychologically plausible motivation for Wanda to go along with the idea.

[0beron]

We already know that Marie tells Wanda about a Prediction that she'll one day attune to an Arkentool. I had always wondered why such a vital piece of information would be told to one doomed to destroy the ones telling her it; but if that detail is what allows here to mentally and emotionally heal from the state she is in now then I totally understand why Marie couldn't just sit around and watch Wanda suffer.

Also consider the apparent limits and flaws of Predictamancy. Marie may not have realized Wanda would doom the side with this info. It is entirely possible that her Prediction didn't include the full picture, or alternatively, Wanda is going to turn back to the new FAQ in present day, and Marie saw that (thus not knowing FAQ would fall temporarily first)

[onlyme]

I sense a nice little paradox ahead: Jillian might likely save FAQ (for some longer time at least), by telling Wanda about it.

After all, a side where casters can oppose to croak anyone must currently sound like a paradise for the Wanda from this update.

[0beron]

...a side where casters can oppose to croak anyone must currently sound like a paradise for the Wanda from this update.

Ahah! THAT is going to be what rejuvenates Wanda. No longer needing to croak and uncroak will be a huge relief.

[effataigus]

Ya i really have to go against the "its all a dream/trimancer" theory that popped up... I wasn't sure what to think but this whole conversation seems to be coming from Wanda not with any influence from Olive.

Agreed. This update didn't fuel that line of speculation at all, and the voice was all Wanda's.

[MonteCristo]

Y'know i'm actually wondering if this whole event is the reason why Jillian only had gwiffens with her and no infantry or warlords when she was a merc in the first book. After this event, She was determined to make sure to not drag anyone down with her ever again and thus chose to no longer use infantry and warlords on her mercenary missions, only using herself and the gwiffens. Thus when he side fell the only units she had left were the ones with her in the field, just her gwiffens. The alternatives would be that she had to disband the infantry and warlrods because she could not pay their upkeep which seems unlikely, or that her warlords and infantry just happened to be unstack from her at the time of the fall and thus disbanded when the capital fell just like Wanda's uncroaked army mostly disbanded when her captiaol fell leaving her only with her own stack.

OK, Wanda is deeply in fate-land now, but we really could guess that already. Nice parallel to Book 1 about the "easy way", "hard way" and the "really hard way".

The question now (for Balder, challenge :p) is how to get from here to a Wanda in Faq in a psychologically plausible manner. Maybe she gets a prediction from somewhere? Somehow, Haffaton must have access to predictamancy, or they wouldn't be so obsessed with getting Wanda in the first place. Or would they? After all, she will be their downfall too - presumably their predictamancy source neglected to leave in that detail.

I'm kinda of guessing that Jillian will learn of how Wanda came to be under haffaton's service and to convince wanda to take her vengeance on them. Afterall, fate deemed that wanda would serve haffaton, but fate did not say she would STAY in their service. Basically finding those little exploitable loopholes in predictions that allow for a prediction to be fulfilled but to your advantage.

[Morni]

Y'know i'm actually wondering if this whole event is the reason why Jillian only had gwiffens with her and no infantry or warlords when she was a merc in the first book. After this event, She was determined to make sure to not drag anyone down with her ever again and thus chose to no longer use infantry and warlords on her mercenary missions, only using herself and the gwiffens. Thus when he side fell the only units she had left were the ones with her in the field, just her gwiffens. The alternatives would be that she had to disband the infantry and warlrods because she could not pay their upkeep which seems unlikely, or that her warlords and infantry just happened to be unstack from her at the time of the fall and thus disbanded when the capital fell just like Wanda's uncroaked army mostly disbanded when her captiaol fell leaving her only with her own stack.

FAQ will rebuild the griffon / megalogwiff army.

This summer update mentions when she will loose her army.. again

http://www.erfworld.com/summer-update-2 ... aurelB.jpg

[the_tick_rules]

Wanda is kinda depressing to talk to ain't she?

[Nnelg]

Marie may not have realized Wanda would doom the side with this info.

That much is necessary, in my opinion; but by itself it doesn't seem enough. It just didn't seem like something Wanda really needed to know.

But we'll see how it turns out. With Predictamancers, you never know just how long a game they're playing...

[Lamech]

Hmmmmm, wondering if Wanda's song is Rhyme-o-mancy of the magical sort, or just normal singing....I'd guess the former, but I can't figure out it's purpose (beyond helping turn Jillian perhaps)

There is no difference between the two on Erfworld. See here all songs and all poems are magical.

A poetic incantation could settle the mind, focus any caster on their work. Even warlords could use Rhymes in leadership, for morale and focus, and in dance fighting. Those bawdy trail songs of Tommy's were crude, but effective on the units under his command. Her singing along with the knights had likely helped her spot that scout on her first day. Songs and poems held great and mysterious power.

They can help with spotting veils apparently.

[0beron]

Hmmmmm, wondering if Wanda's song is Rhyme-o-mancy of the magical sort, or just normal singing....I'd guess the former, but I can't figure out it's purpose (beyond helping turn Jillian perhaps)

There is no difference between the two on Erfworld. See here all songs and all poems are magical.

Ah yes that's true. I suppose what I meant was "I wonder if it's for Wanda's benefit only, or if it's supposed to have some kind of effect on Jillian and/or the world as well.