synodiporia_ooc | MARKET OF THE VANITIES: Jaunt Info

MARKET OF THE VANITIES
Revisiting Purgatory
January 17 - February 26

The Market of Tech Duinn sits on a hill just above the banks of the river Styx, on the edge of the Asphodel Meadows. Oaths sworn over the black water of the Styx cannot be broken, making the Market a favored location for Heaven & Hell to bargain with one another, although few angels and demons reside there. Sithen, the half-fallen angels whose only crime was to refuse to fight demons, consider it a center of culture, and often use it to trade Demesnes (feudal land grants among the Sithen which comes with supernatural powers, like an angelic Grace or demonic Dignity, but with added real estate). But that is not why it is there. Dhuosnos, the Old Man of the Market, a powerful Sithen who claims the hill as his Demesnes, first weighed and codified Virtues and Vices as tradable commodities 1,800 years (or 140 Eschatons) ago.

Strange as it may seem in these latter days, he conceived of the trade as a mercy to the Peregrines - lost souls caught in Purgatory - because they entered the afterlife with no wealth to match the Immortali (humans who have achieved undeath or eternal life, and thus keep their souls forever), and no station like those Angels, Demons, and Sithen use to measure their relative worth. The Market has always been a friendly place for Peregrines, and since the beginning of the Asaph Eschaton (which started with the speaking of the Name in Melasurei), it has been a place Peregrines rallied. In times of old, Dhuosnos sold four Princedoms to the Market - one to the Angels, one to the Demons, one to the Sithen, and one to the Immortali.

Now he has sold a fifth, to the Peregrines - and they pass and trade it between them, rather than appointing a single spokesperson. But six positions on the Market Council means votes may be deadlocked (for of course, Dhuosnos keeps a vote for himself), and so he is considering the sale of a seventh Princedom… and Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory have all noticed.

The growing Peregrine presence at the Market could nearly be considered an army. The Demons would pay almost anything for the power to bind it to their service; the Angels, to redeem these lost souls and bring them to Heaven - whether they wish it or no. The Sithen fear a third front in the war waged across their homeland; the Immortali fear being outnumbered by a group who no longer needs them for survival & who may grow wealth to threaten theirs. And the Peregrines - they seem to wish something different with every passing day, every new argument.

All creation is sending their subtlest diplomats and agents, their most coveted treasures, to this place on the banks of the Styx, where everything is for sale, all contracts are binding, and all sales are final. Who will gain a second seat on the Market Council - and what other bargains, trades, and sales may be made in the shadow of that distraction?

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If you’re interested in a plot role for this jaunt, head over here to let us know which one. Casting will be done during the day on the 12th.

Marshal of the Hailstorm - an angelic general and one-being army, here to guard against demonic treachery in the negotiations. A jaded, stone-faced badass with a terrifying reputation. Possesses the power to rain fire and brimstone, water and hail, and utterly destroy armies and landscapes.

Opener of Locks - the Angel sent to bargain, said to be able to talk their way through any barrier in Heaven or Hell. Charming and mysterious.

Angel of Scorpions - the Angel of Punishment & Prince of the Market, whose task is to sell angelic stockpiles of Sin wholesale to lost souls worthy of damnation. Furious and disapproving.

Prince of Chess - a Prince of Hell (not of the Market) who, after drinking from the Styx for aeons, is incapable of uttering a falsehood. Possesses the power of truth in ways that frighten the most honest of angels.

Prince of the Gaps - demonic Prince of the Market, with power over the spaces between things - between appearance and reality, form and nature, boundary and connection. A powerful mystic with a reputation for daring everything, and getting away with it.

Marquis of the 66th - a general of Hell who can share power with other Demons, making every warrior who serves under them just as potent as they are. Disciplined, inscrutable, withdrawn, and entirely too perceptive.

Prince of Gold - Sithen Prince of the Market, a being of absurd material wealth who smuggles resources between Death and Life. A profligate, flamboyant hedonist with a shrewd mind for profit and a reputation for scrupulous fairness.

Prince of Witches - Immortali Prince of the Market, ancient and amoral, who can bewitch unwary souls to their service. The Prince of Witches has history with nearly everyone - old alliances or feuds, which can be plotted at the player’s discretion - and is easily the social equal of any Angel, Demon, or Sithen.

The Huntress - a militant Peregrine who leads many of the newly organized and mercenary Peregrine warriors, & seeks to carve out a fresh, secure future for her people. Often holds the orb which grants the Peregrine Princedom of the Market, but as a believer in radical equality, passes the orb to others just as frequently. Zealous and uncompromising, as impractical as any passionate idealist.

Dhuosnos - The Old Man of the Market, owns the Demesnes it is set on, alchemically measures Sins and Virtues. (Since this is such an important role to the function of the jaunt, Dhuosnos will be played by one of the Familiar Faces.)

Many plot role skills on this jaunt will be tradeable items. If a character trades away their plot role skill before the end of the jaunt, they will receive a free skill gain in its place. This free skill would not require a teaching proof (if it is a jaunt skill, it will need a use proof as usual).

After parts have been cast, we’ll ask the plot role players to pop over here and let everyone know who they’re playing!

Dhuosnos, the Old Man of the Market, will be played by none other than our old, familiar (often horribly dead) friend Tobi!

For OOC contact, feel free to PM this journal or poke me on plurk at