Reality's Plaything 4: Savants Ascendant

by Will Greenway

  After an encounter with Corim Vale, and his metapathic talent, Annawen has become rather fixated on the handsome man. The fact that he’s in love with Dulcere Starbinder is not at all troubling to her. She knows she’ll get her way eventually… she always has in the past…

  See Also: Felspar, Cassin Kel’Ishtauri

  Felspar, Caldorian — Son of Desiray Illkaren Felspar and Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri. Cassandra is the “Foathra” or the surrogate of a female / female coupling who provides the male genes. Caldorian is has an identical twin brother Sebenreth’Kar Felspar.

  Caldorian is currently married to Bronawyn ShadowStalker and has two daughters: Cassopia and DonaRae.

  See Also: Felspar, Desiray Illkaren, Felspar, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri, Shadowstalker, Bronawyn

  Felspar, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri — Cassandra is one of the only surviving members of the first incarnation of the Band of the Crescent Moon. She has traveled and adventured extensively throughout the Realms during her 91 years of life. At one time she was engaged to be married to Gondor Degaba who by a quirk of fate was changed from a male to a female by the Aesir pantheon lord Loki. In Gondor’s new identity as a female things got pretty complicated as he and she had already managed to conceive children. Cassandra ended up not being able to handle the relationship and the two of them grew apart but continued to raise their daughters Cassin and Annawen. Cassandra went on to marry the elder mage Loric Felspar.

  After the adoption of Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri by house Techstar, it became a fashion among the Kriar nobility to start interacting with the humanity and skilled mages in particular. The ability of magic to overcome something Kriar science could not opened many eyes, and sparked intense interest in learning the secrets of magic. Also, humans being young and impressionable, made them excellent protégés. The Kriar being empaths, derive a great deal of satisfaction being around creatures who still experience excitement and passion. They can feel ‘vicariously’ through their empathy, emotions and sensations that they themselves have become numb to due to hundreds of millennia of life.

  The Techstar family has profited enormously by Cassandra’s addition to their ranks, as the mage’s ‘star status’ among Kriar is worth a great deal in favors, media deals, and other ‘celebrity status’ benefits. This, of course, certainly hasn’t hurt Cassandra’s popularity among the members of her adoptive family.

  See Also: Felspar, Loric, Felspar, Annawen Kel’Ishtauri, Felspar, Cassin Kel’Ishtauri, kriar

  Felspar, Cassin Kel’Ishtauri — Cassin is the steadfast twin of the union. She represents all the things that Annawen is not. She is steady, logical, and dedicated to rational thought. Cassin is extremely close to her Mother (Foathra) Dorian. Dorian is Cassin’s paternal progenitor. Early in her life, Dorian was in fact Gondor (a man) and engaged to Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri. A extremely unfortunate encounter with a vampire and a the humor of a Loki resulted in a man being placed in woman’s body. By shape changing, he could regain his normal male form, but the magic would eventually wear off and he would again become ‘Dorian’. It was in his shape changed state that Dorian (Gondor) fathered the twins Cassin and Annawen. As a way of keeping things from getting confused, they coined the term ‘Foathra’ for a female that had sired children.

  There are other Foathrings in the Felspar family, but Cassin and Annawen were the first. Initially, Cassandra thought she could deal with her husband-to-be having become female, but later found she couldn’t handle it. Gondor also had problems having thought like a male for 50 odd years, now being a female and (via hormones) beginning to think like a female. The two of them grew apart but raised Cassin and Annawen as a family. Cassin married Sindra by ‘default’. She thought the pairing with the Frielos twins was a bad and unsafe endeavor. Only later did she come to really appreciate the benefits of being spoiled by an elder. Now, many years into the marriage, she has fully embraced their relationship and enjoys all of its benefits. Cassin plays the passive role to Sindra’s aggressive one, and is content to satisfy the needs of her sometimes demanding mate.

  Cassin is much more involved in technology and more technically savvy than her sister. In that aspect, she complements her sister well, who is extremely magic savvy. Working together the twins can excel in practically any culture.

  See Also: Felspar, Annawen Kel’Ishtauri, Felspar, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri

  Felspar, Darin’kel — Son of Desiray Illkaren Felspar and Dorian Degaba Ishtarvariku. Darin has a twin sister named Everia. Darin is known as the “beauty” of the Felspar clan for his androgynous jaw-dropping handsomeness. His appearance is such that even the pantheon lord Isis keeps the young man on display nearby so she can look at him from time to time. This is one of the reasons for his accelerated rise through the ranks of Isis’ followers, a fact which has earned him more than a little enmity.

  Despite his rival’s jealous claims to his “sleeping his way to the top” Darin’Kel is in fact an exceptionally gifted and talented individual. Having his mother Desiray’s incredible physique and Dorian’s keen intellect, there is little this young man cannot do once he sets his mind to it. As a cleric of Isis the dogma of the worship was stifling to him. However, he became a cleric as something of a defiance to his mother Dorian who wanted him to learn the magical arts (actually, it was more of Everia’s defiance than his, but Darin generally follows the will of his sister). It was not until Darin entered the ranks of the Sovereign that he truly began to flourish (the sovereigns are mages with priest training who serve Isis).

  Both Darin’Kel and Everia feel a certain amount of resentment and rebellion against their mother Dorian. Most of their clash is rooted in a mother-daughter tug of war for identity and freedom. Ironically, Dorian’s persuasive and manipulative ways work on everybody except her children. Darin’s heart is considerably softer than Everia’s when it comes to Dorian, and when not toeing-the-line laid down by his sister he and his mother are very close. Desiray experiences none of the hostility that Dorian is privy to. She was the “fun” parent and had no part in the law laid down by Dorian which is in part the reason for the mage’s unpopularity with these two children.

  Darin’Kel later marries a cleric by the name of Gwynned, and later still they have two sons: Xandar and Tristham.

  See Also: Felspar, Desiray Illkaren, Felspar, Everia, Felspar Clan

  Felspar, Desiray Illkaren — Desiray Illkaren Felspar, also known as Whitelock, is one of the core members of the Band of the Crescent Moon. She is one of the “three matriarchs” of family Felspar (Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri and Dorian Degaba Ishtarvariku being the other two). Desiray has had a long and sordid history as a thief. Her adventurers in Silissia and later in quests against Hellzan, Surr, and the Dream Merchants made her fortunes which she turned to the task of building a network of guilds. Her skills as a thief are renowned through Sharikaar as is her merciless reputation. In her later years, this reputation softened considerably when she married Loric Felspar. She became gentler still after the advent of children.

  Desiray was the personal patron of Sireth, who in turn was the patron of Liandra Kergatha. Desiray and Liandra initially share a mutual enmity toward one another that almost ends in them killing each other. Later, they grow closer and Desiray takes on a role as Wren’s surrogate mother. In an attempt to shield both Desiray and Liandra, Gaea alters Desiray so that she can become Liandra’s tao beta (meaning that they can join to become a single far more powerful being). In this form, Desiray and Liandra proved a reasonable match for even elder elite like the D’klace sisters Sindra and Drucilla.

  See Also: Felspar, Loric, Felspar, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri, Sharikaar, tao

  Felspar, Everia — Daughter of Dorian Degaba Ishtarvariku and Desiray Illkaren Felspar [Desiray Foathra]. She is one of a pair of polar-body twins ((identical / fraternal) similar appearance but different sex). Her brother is Darin’Kel.

  Everia marries the Baronian warmage Luthice in 1114 N.I.S.

  See Also: Felspar, Desiray Illkar
en, Felspar, Darin’kel

  Felspar, Loric — Numanorian elder elite and patriarch of family Felspar. Loric is a renowned Ranger and grand lore-mage. He has two wives, Desiray and Cassandra. He has three children by blood (with Cassandra). Loric is the creator of many magical items and technologies. The most notable of which are the Krillar. His wife Desiray wields the krill sword and dagger, Khairhavhel and Khairhavkul. Cassandra and Dorian both used krill staves of his design.

  Loric is one of the last generation of Numanor, an elder race that eventually destroyed itself in pursuit of the ultimate power of entropy once possessed by the first ones.

  Loric was born approximately 90,000 cycles prior to the events chronicled in most of the stories taking place in the Ring Realms. He by far pre-dates the lives of Aarlen Frielos and Elsbeth Crowninshield. Being one of the few remaining creatures possessing “true-magic” he felt that he should have a say in the development or the corruption of magic and how it was being distributed by the pantheon lords. This led Loric down a path where he began trying to police the ancient lores once controlled by the Numanorians and the first ones. He developed powerful magicks and trained allies to help him in this venture. Despite their limited number and resources Loric and his followers became a growing irritation to many of the pantheon lords, as he “kept them in line” policing not only the spread of magic, but enforcing a certain amount of separation between the lords and their sources of demiurge. The hit-and-run gorilla tactics of the Krill warriors finally escalated into full fledged war and Loric and his followers were forced into hiding. He and his followers would go into seclusion for centuries at a time, spending the “cooling off” cycles in specially designed stasis chambers that Loric had secreted throughout the worlds of the Ring Realms. There were occasions when he spent as long as five millennia in stasis, the exact reasons for these extended submergences are unknown but there are at least four known periods when he went “underground” for several thousand cycles. It’s been speculated that he was in actuality sleeping off massive injuries to his body and spirit, but there is no evidence to support this theory. Upon each new emergence, he was stronger and more persistent in his desire to “clean up” the tyrannical dominion of the pantheon lords. Over the course of the millennia, the original desire to merely shepherd magic transformed into a one-man vendetta against the lords. It was in the latter portion of this war that Loric met and befriended Damay Alostar one of the great Kel’Varans. They undertook several quests to protect various members of the savant race scattered throughout the Realms. It was Loric’s eventual plan to gather up all the savants and turn them against the pantheon lords. In the middle of this plan, Damay soured on the idea fearing that they would in fact cause the destruction of savant kind rather than their preservation. This fundamental difference eventually resulted in their going their separate ways. In the interim, Loric had learned a great deal from the individual savants he had met, and had discovered intrinsic properties in the foundating power of Eternity. These new discoveries were integrated into the Krillar weaponry and the power turned against the pantheon lords in a renewed onslaught in order to force the lords to give up their possession of the “material plane” and constrain their activities to the outer dimensions. The conflict escalated quickly, and several lords were slain permanently by Loric’s new powers. The threat posed by the Numinorian created a situation where the pantheon lords would be forced to either comply and give up their possession of the core worlds, or cooperate and dismiss Loric from existence once and for all. The lords chose the latter, and in a massive battle the pantheon lords came together and in final battle corralled Loric and his followers and destroyed them all in a single entropic blast of demiurge.

  In the aftermath of the conflict, it was a general consensus of the pantheon lords that they would all withdraw their primary influence to the outer planes, in order to prevent any further such conflicts. This was not only a direct result of Loric’s efforts but an increasing pressure from a number of other sources.

  Unknown to the lords, Loric had invested his essence into a secluded location, placing it within one of the five great krillglobes of his creation. Several millennia later, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri found the globe and discovered the great mage’s essence within. The lady mage used her powerful magics to recreate a body for Loric and place his essence within the shell, restoring the ancient Numanorian to life. This last violently forceful vacation had taken most of the fight out of the great mage, with the pantheon lords having withdrawn to the outer planes there really wasn’t much left to fight about. Loric spent a great deal of time in seclusion, healing, and regenerating his lost powers. In the meantime, Cassandra was fascinated by this powerful man, both by the possibility of gaining his lore, and learning from him, and the romantic idea of associating with this legendary figure. Loric was, of course, alone and lonely, Cassandra was hungry and enticing. Eventually, the youngster wore down the elder’s resistance and the two of them developed a more intimate relationship. They were finally engaged in 1074 N.I.S. after five years of persistence. They were finally married in 1079.

  Loric is the patriarch of the clan. The gods tolerate his new existence but remain wary that he might start his old tricks again. He has three boys by Cassandra (born as triplets) Loric II, Radian, and Celek. He has a single son by Desiray (his second wife) named Farveth.

  See Also: Felspar, Desiray Illkaren, Felspar, Cassandra Kel’Ishtauri, krillar

  frell — Frell is a common curse in the Ring Realms. The compiler of the glossary leaves it up to the reader’s imagination as to what ‘frell’ refers to. It can be conjugated in a number of ways: That’s really frelled. What the frell?! You frelling made that up!

  Frielos, Aarlen — Supreme Magistrix of the 4th Alliance territories. Engaged to Regaura Targallae. Aarlen’s exact age is unknown (even to her) but historians agree that she can be no less than 45,000 cycles old. This member of the grand elder elite is descended from Territaani branch of humanoid stock. Aarlen was magically and technically enhanced by her Father in order to create a living weapon. Abused and tortured throughout her childhood, she eventually turned on her Father who had already killed her mother and sister. Unfortunately for the then twelve cycle old Aarlen, the cycle of violence did not end there. Mishap, misfortune, and aggression over a span of years eventually turned the white-haired woman into a brutal killing machine. She became proficient in all the major martial and magical arts, and mastered many forms. The a millenniums long series of bloody conquests she hacked out the territory of space now known as the fourth alliance.

  During her rise to power she made many enemies which include Elsbeth Crowninshield, Vulcindra Skybane, and the Trackazoid and Eddorian empires. During her thousands of cycles of life, Aarlen has begotten children for purposes of having agents under her direct control. She has thirteen acknowledged children still living. The Frielos family has some 12 recognized generations of relatives that number close to 75,000 members. Though it seems hard to believe, with a life that spans over 1000 generations, Aarlen’s distant relations likely number in the hundreds of millions.

  See Also: Targalle, Beia {Regaura} (Queen)

  Frielos, Drucilla — Daughter of Aarlen Frielos. Elder elite and member of the D’klace guild of assassins. Being “into” everything, she even plays in an all-girl musical group with Luthice and Arabella. She is the silent sister to Sindra Frielos.

  Something to note about Drucilla and her sister is the fact that while they are to a certain extent evil, and definitely self serving, these two never became the unredeemable black that many of Aarlen’s creations became. This seems to be a deliberate happenstance on Aarlen’s part, presumably so that they would be more effective as spies and seductresses.

  Drucilla is married to Annawen Kel’Ishtauri Felspar. The elder woman has been teaching Annawen the etiquette and protocols of the 4th alliance high court, as Annawen seeks to conduct law there.

  See Also: Felspar, Annawen Kel’Ishtauri

&nbs
p; Frielos, Sindra — Daughter of Aarlen Frielos. Elder elite and member of the D’klace guild of assassins. Being “into” everything, she even plays in an all-girl musical group with Luthice and Arabella. She is the speaking sister to Drucilla Frielos.

  Something to note about Sindra and her sister is the fact that while they are to a certain extent evil, and definitely self serving, these two never became the unredeemable black that many of Aarlen’s creations became. This seems to be a deliberate happenstance on Aarlen’s part, presumably so that they would be more effective as spies and seductresses.

  Sindra is married to Cassin Kel’Ishtauri Felspar. Being the “voices” of the two sets of twins its not uncommon to see them paired with the other twin. Why they didn’t simply marry that way is still something of a mystery…

  See Also: Felspar, Cassin Kel’Ishtauri

  Frielos, Thanos — Thanos is Aarlen’s last child, and relatively young by elder standards (around two thousand cycles old). He is the misunderstood child of the Frielos family, something of a black sheep that never got much respect because despite his name, he simply wasn’t evil enough. Thanos is a gentlemanly charmer trained like his older sisters, Sindra and Drucilla, to be an assassin. Thanos is the D’klace twin’s “baby brother” and there is no-one else that they dote on or show affection toward (aside from Cassin and Annawen). The relationship between these three is fairly complex, as there is definite signs that Sindra and Drucilla shielded Thanos from Aarlen in a deliberate attempt to keep him from becoming totally evil as many of the Frielos clan are. Thanos is still bad, but not an irredeemably evil despot, that others like him have become.