DIVINE POWERS

THE DIVINE POWERS

The group arrives in Meridian and approach the city of Helena. The Strange Man receives them at the entrance to the city with some guards. He is courteous and welcomes them to the city, stating that their effects will be taken to their rooms by the servants. They are then escorted to the Palace Athene.

They reach the Palace where the Strange Man insists that they remove their weapons before entering. They reluctantly do so and enter the main hall and the throne room. The throne room is elegant but it is noticeably darker to the main characters. As they approach the throne they see several guards, though not Meridian Knights, as well as the Emerald King and Queen.

The two rulers will be dressed in green with the distinguishing feature of them being the branches coming out of their heads indicating that they are Flora Elves. They will be clad in subdued brown and green. The Emerald King Zhunar greets them as he stands. The characters bow to him, and greet the pair. The Emerald Queen Enith is silent.

The Empress Anahita of Gules suddenly appears on the throne. Her fire red hair is distinguishable in the darkened room. Her gown and cloak are also brightly colored gold, turquoise and purple. The characters are startled by this. The Emerald King introduces her and then introduces the Ecliptics as members of the Champion Coalition. Anahita states that she is grateful for the opportunity to meet the other esteemed High Champions of the West. She begins to demonstrate her powers of Telekinesis and Construct by offering a drink and assembling a table. It is clear she is showing off.

They will have a small conversation and Anahita will extend her courtesy to her guests. She suggests that they are tired from their trip and they will meet that evening for the fete in their honor. Then they can discuss the terms of the restored Kingdom of Meridian becoming part of the Champion Coalition. John will hesitate to leave and look at the Emerald Queen. They are then taken to their rooms.

The sun will be going down and the scene will shift to elsewhere in the city. Sam and Shoshanna will infiltrate the city gates by hiding in the back of a haycart. The owner of the cart will be paid to get them inside. The owner will speak somewhat about the new order of things in the city thanks to the Empress's takeover. Sam and Shoshanna are now inside the city undetected.

Sam and Shoshanna who will get off the cart in an alleyway with various items. They will have a chest containing a crossbow, rope and the Nullifying Dagger with them. The cart owner will let them know that there is a new curfew after dark and the City Watch will be patrolling the streets. He suggests they find where they are going to stay quickly before the sun sets. The pair thank him and look to the Palace. They begin to make their way to the rooftops toward the Palace Athene.

This works fine. The plan if fine as well considering that they could know of King Dalton's role or may not. It really doesn't matter. He could be there deus ex regardless.

THE PALACE ATHENE

Aletheia, Morgandy and John are in the guest quarters of the Palace Athene. Aletheia lights a candle and places it on the window sill looking out. Morgandy states that she hopes Sam and Shoshanna will be able to see it. Aletheia says that she hopes so. 

She turns and states that it seems true that the Empress really is no ordinary Champion. She states that there is something eerie about her, something almost supernatural. Morgandy agrees and states that she seems to have more than one power. She asks John if he has seen that before. John admits that he hasn't, but not only that, she was able to Shift just like the Emerald King. Aletheia asks how that is possible. Morgandy suggests that perhaps it is an Artifact. John considers it but he states that they believed only Sam can make Artifacts. Aletheia then posits that perhaps somehow the Empress took the Emerald King's power as her own.

John believes that it is possible but doesn't know how. He states that they may find out soon enough. He then pulls out the coin case from earlier. He looks inside seeing that there are three coins left. If Sam and Shoshanna can get them the Nullifying Dagger then they will at least have a defense against the Empress at the fete if necessary. They can't wait for that though and John states that the most important thing though is to make sure the King and Queen are safe. He states that he must speak with the King to find out the true state of things and what danger they face. He pulls out a coin.

Morgandy asks how he will do that. John then explains that his last few Artifacts contain powers from The Rogues Gallery. This one is from the Ghost of Istoria. Morgandy is surprised to hear that Sam had replicated the Ghost's power. The two women understand what John will do now and Aletheia says to be careful. John states that he will be as quick as he can. He holds up the Artifact and says the word "Vanish".

John disappears and goes to the door slipping past the guards. The Guards immediately address Aletheia who has moved in front of the door. The guard asks if everything is alright but Aletheia responds that it is and closes the door. She sees a tapestry sway down the hall as John begins to sneak around the castle.

John continues up some stairs when the coin Artifact then shatters and he becomes visible again as two soldiers walk past him in the hall. He ducks away before they see him but overhears them talking about the new order of things. Apparently the Meridian Emerald Guards have been adjusting to having the Empress' Imperial Paladins inside the city. Most of the Meridian guards were then relegated to the City Watch.

As he nears the King's Chambers, he notices there aren't any guards. He reaches for the handle but it opens in front of him. Immediately John rushes away behind a pillar. He hears a woman's voice from the room and sees Empress Anahita leaving who continues to talk to whomever is inside the room. He sees the Empress begin to leave along with a hooded figure who then lock the door to the chamber.

The hooded figure seems familiar to John and he realizes that it is the Djinn from the South. The Empress is speaking to the Djinn as they begin to walk toward John. He jumps out of an open window nearby to avoid being seen. The Empress pauses in the hallway and looks toward the window. The Djinn asks her what is wrong as John listens from the ledge. She says it is nothing and they begin to walk away. John then sees a way to access the King's chambers from the outside and begins to climb to the balcony of the King's chambers.

Now, if I want things to be clearer, I could have John almost run into the Strange Man here and show that he has taken the Resonating Artifacts. It will identify the Artifacts firshand and also show that the Strange Man now has them in his possession. That could work but the issue remains that Anahita would need one to do the things that she does. 

If this were to happen then I would need to then show it somehow affecting her. It doesn't need to be addressed right away about what is happening to her because I can possibly explain it away with Simon Perish later. I have a feeling he will give some exposition and even have one in his possession, possibly shattering it stating that they are extremely dangerous. It is possible that he has not begun making them again but are remnants from long ago that have remained and that the Strange Man learned of.

If that is the case then Anahita surely can't have obtained one. The only real reason for her to have one is to show how much more powerful she is by showing what these Resonating Artifacts can do. It is for foreshadowing later and I can have there be that urgency of keeping the Strange Man from releasing the Rogues and giving them these artifacts. It can show why the Empress is so powerful in the first place. This means the characters will know of his plans at that point.

Plan

Ok so once again, what can we say is Gillecome's plan at this point. I would say that he is sending his Trionfi in as well as the Warlock as a diversion tactic to obtain the Resonating Artifacts from Simon Perish's lab. Why would he need to do this. Well he doesn't need to do this but sees an opportunity to possibly have the Ecliptics and Anahita's regime destroy each other while also getting what he wants and getting away from the city. See he wants the Resonating Artifacts so that he can give them to the Rogues and become powerful enough to rule. 

Now what if Gillecome had instead of the Morph power, the Construct power. This power was originally held by the King in the East that was taken by Anahita. However, I have since scrapped the whole deal with Anahita in the East and have freedom to do with her whatever I wish. She has not yet really used the construct power but perhaps she can have obtained a different Divine power from the east. 

She can simply have the power of Consume so will not need to rely on the rings so I can get rid of that idea. Now since she has consume, perhaps I can then give the Telekinesis power to the King so she will already have that power. So she has Telekinesis but can also Consume other powers for herself. This is just like before except she does not have the Construct power. Now she will then seek to obtain the Shift power from the Emerald King also just like before. 

So the Strange Man will not have the Morph power and I can even possibly get rid of that power completely because it turns out with the Construct power and the Resonating Artifact, one can reconstruct themselves and completely change their form. This will explain how later he will be able to change into John. However it is only possible to do this with the Resonating Artifact. He will then lose it and not be able to change forms again. This will still be an ability that he finds out later and not immediately. He simply want to become more powerful.

This means that the Strange Man wishes to obtain the Resonating Artifacts for himself rather than to simply take them to the Rogues. He will do this but this whole thing will allow him to actually confront Anahita possibly if that is what he intends.  (If I get rid of the Morph power I would be able to come up with another power or I can just get rid of both Morph and the Shock power for consistency' sake) I have yet to actually do anything interesting with construct anyway. 

So if the Strange Man then has the Construct power, I will need to rewrite the earlier encounter with him and possibly adjust some the backstory with Silvayne Manor possibly. Everything else still stands with him. He loses to John and is maimed by Aletheia. He is able to survive by constructing medicine and healing himself. He then goes into hiding and reemerges as the Strange Man and seeks out Anahita. He finds out that she is seeking out powers to take and hides his own. He also suspects that Simon is doing the same.

All of this would then not require his identity to be kept secret but will be regardless. This could then all lead to the same thing and culminate in a fight between himself and Anahita that Anahita apparently loses or wins. Simon could be "killed" in this scene as well. The Strange Man would not win but will be evenly matched with Anahita until the Artifact gets the better of him and he retreats. During all of this the Ecliptics are able to escape and regroup. 

Now this way will not work if the Strange Man has the Morph power because in obtaining a Resonating Artifact it would not make him more powerful. With this outcome, he would be strong enough to potentially fight Anahita but also then wish to assemble the Rogues for the same reason. To become stronger. This makes him confronting everyone at the gardens seem more plausible and make more sense because he will then show that he has the Resonating Artifacts and attempt to use them on Anahita. 

However, Anahita will get the upper hand after the Strange Man feels ill or he could even attempt to escape since it could be believed that he merely attempted to test his new powers. He always had it in mind that he would take the other 2 artifacts to the Rogues, the Weird Figure and the Ghost of Istoria. This seems to clear up a lot of things, eliminate the necessity to fill in plot holes and also moves the story along. The only issue is adjusting the sequence of event in Meridian.

Review

This really would seem to simplify things at first glance but truly what it comes down to that is seemingly apparent is the point of the Resonating Artifacts, how do they relate and in what capacity does Anahita use/want/know of them. Or anyone for that matter. Now with the above revisions it seems unnecessary to make such drastic changes to the Strange Man when it really is mostly about the Resonating Artifacts here. I know that there are some things that Anahita apparently does that seem more befitting of a Champion with the Resonating Artifact augmentation and that really seems to be the only issue here. Trying to make Anahita work with or without having one. If she does have one it leads to several issues in it's own right. If she does not then I really am uncertain if the use of her powers here works. She comes across as way too powerful.

The point is that it should show what the Resonating Artifacts are capable of here. 

Few changes first of all. She doesn't have the Consume Artifacts anymore that idea is unnecessary. We can just make it that she can Consume powers. Just take it as is. In addition, she will have Telekinesis, and Teleportation because of the Emerald King. This much is certain. The Construct power is still on the fence. Now, the Warlock's powers. Illusion could work just fine however, I have not made use of he Shock power and it could very well be this type of destructive power that the Strange Man would wish to utilize. He would potentially steal the Resonating Artifacts, of which only Simon Perish knows of. He could give an Artifact to the Warlock who doesn't use it right away. 

The Strange Man will have already left or confront Anahita and leave. He will then be confronted by the Anahita in the courtyard the same way.

That confrontation could be in the courtyard would then be interrupted by the Warlock with his newly augmented powers. Or like I said, the Warlock would still be the one confronted by Anahita and then reveal that he has one of the Resonating Artifacts. Anahita will not know what it is and Simon will not be present but the Warlock will know that it is what the Strange Man was after. It was something that Simon had been working on long ago and the reason for the Shimmering Soldier's immense power. 

He will then proceed to either severely injure Anahita or seemingly kill Simon Perish. Then as he is about to kill John and co, Explosive arrows will then hit the Warlock and incapacitate him. The Istorians arrive with Sam, transmuting the arrow tips into pure Black Powder.

Now that I am thinking about this, the Warlock truly could be the PyroMancer at this point. It would make him not seem as much of a threat early on when the characters are in Grace and can simply use the Nullifying Dagger as a quick way to dispatch him. He will then come back at this point and really showcase what the Resonating Artifact can do. Then the explosive arrows will also make sense as they are ignited by fire. Either way, we can see what we need later or how this would play out using fire instead of electricity.

Anyway, the characters come back in the same way to rescue John and co. They get ready to escape and the Warlock or PyroMancer begins to succumb to the Resonating Artifact and begins to lose control. Before he can completely be destroyed by the Artifact, he will be killed by Simon Perish. I do want the Emerald King to be killed somehow though because John will see this as a failure on his part. 

One thing I will need to keep in mind on some of these rewrites is that Aletheia is the true embodiment of Hope throughout the entire story. She is unfathomably positive despite everything that she goes through and endures. It is possible that she will not be the one to "kill" Gillecome when he is the Shapeless Man but simply stab him and he falls off of the cliff. The reason I bring this up is that John will begin to doubt himself here because of the Emerald King's death. This will lead to him being comforted by Aletheia when they are together soon after. 

It will also inform his feelings about the Rogues going forward where he will lose his outlook completely when he becomes the Crimson Crusader after the time jump. However, when he realizes that Aletheia was not killed 10 years ago but had his daughter he realizes that he has lost his outlook and changes his ways, once again realizing that Aletheia was right. Either that or he never truly is a villain so to speak. He possibly truly accepts Aletheia was always right and simply is attempting to destroy the Empress to keep her from destroying the Afterlife where he believes his friends, including Aletheia reside, since he believes they are dead.

THE NULLIFYING DAGGER

Sam and Shoshanna will reach a perch on one of the rooftops and agree that it will do. The sun is nearly completely set. They see the candle and Sam ties one end of the rope to the bolt. Shoshanna aims the crossbow and fires the arrow that goes through the Guest Quarter window and into the canopy of the bed. Morgandy grabs the rope and ties it to the bedpost. 

Aletheia blows out the candle as a signal. Sam then ties the other end to the rope to the Nullifying Artifact. He prepares to swing the Nullifying Dagger toward the Palace but is stopped by Shoshanna. She sees the the Strange Man come out from a doorway that is slightly below them. He doesn't notice the rope above him as he exits the gates of the Palace. The two look on from above and wonder where the Strange Man is going. He then disappears between the buildings. Shoshanna suggests that they follow him.

Sam agrees and lets go of the dagger and it swings toward the Palace, hitting the wall. They see that the dagger begins to be pulled up. Aletheia and Morgandy pull up the dagger and unsheathe it knowing that they now have something to defend themselves. Sam states that they have the dagger and shoulders the crossbow. Shoshanna says they should hurry as they begin to make there way across the rooftops in pursuit of the Strange Man.

The Strange Man seems to be heading towards the East Postern Gate of Meridian. Two guards greet him as he enters a courtyard. They seem to know who he is. Sam and Shoshanna reach the courtyard and watch from the rooftops as he pulls out a sword and cuts down the two guards with efficiency.

The pair don't know what to make of the situation. The Strange Man steps past the bodies of the two guards and reaches the gates. He unlocks the gatehouse doors and opens the Postern gates. Soldiers begin to enter the city. There garb seems familiar to Shoshanna. They are followed by the Warlock. Sam is confused as to what is going on and Shoshanna looks closer at the soldiers. She then recognizes the insignia as members of the mercenary group the Trionfi.

She worriedly tells Sam that they need to get back to the Palace Athene. Sam asks Shoshanna what is going on. The pair begin to make their way off of the roof as Shoshanna says that they are not the only ones that have it out for the Empress. She thinks the Trionfi are going to attempt a coup. The Trionfi begin to form ranks in the courtyard. Sam clarifies that she thinks the Trionfi are attempting to oust the Empress. Sam asks for whom but Shoshanna doesn't know.

Several Meridian Guards see the Trionfi along the watch tower and outer wall but are killed. Shoshanna states that they need to get their friends out of the Palace. At this, the pipe that Shoshanna was climbing down breaks. Sam grabs her hand but the pipe falls alerting the Trionfi soldiers. Sam pulls her up as several soldiers fire arrows at them. The pair jump across the alley to a balcony to escape as Trionfi begin to pursue them.

EMERALD CHAMBERS

John reaches the balcony of the King's Quarters and climbs in. He finds the Emerald Queen sitting on her bed. She hears John from the balcony and asks aloud who is there. John enters the room and he identifies himself and bows to her. The Emerald Queen is shocked to see him. John says that he is at her service and has come to help Meridian.

The Emerald Queen pulls him up and asks him why he has come. John tells him that he had come to find out more about the situation. She clarifies that she meant why did they come to Meridian. John tells her that they received a message signed by the King telling them that Meridian had been taken over. She states they shouldn't have come, they have put themselves at risk. John explains that they suspected as much that the Empress coerced the Emerald King into cooperating. Despite the risks they couldn't ignore their allies if they were in danger.

She tells John that she appreciates that he has come but states that she is no longer in danger. The Ecliptics, however may be. John asks her to please tell him what is going on. She says that the King was not coerced but truly has joined the Empress of his own volition. She states that the Empress defeated the King in single combat but the Empress kept them alive and asked them both to join her Empire. Only the King was convinced and submitted to her. John suggests that it is understandable the King would submit to keep Meridian safe from harm. The Queen says that this isn't case.

The Empress is in fact the same Empress of the Sanguine Empire from thirty years ago. She claims to have come back from the dead somehow. The Queen knows this because she remembers her and realized that the Empress has not aged. She has come back but she is different somehow. John suspects who the Empress is and asks who the blue hooded figure was. The Queen explains that he has gone by different names the Empress knows him as Simon Perish. Perish was by the Empress's side years ago but disappeared after her death.

John now realizes that the Empress is the Angra Manyu from the South and that Simon Perish is who had released her from death. John states that the Empress has returned to reclaim her previously lost power. The Queen then says that that is only part of it. The Empress has also been collecting powers from Champions. John has seen this firtshand. She is taking them into her somehow, even taking the King's power as her own.

John then questions if that is why she brought the Ecliptics there, to take their powers. The Queen states that that is possible but the King would not join the Empress to simply to gain more power. She offered him the chance to be something more than King. John turns to her and asks what she means. The Queen then states it is true that the Empress may be seeking out her former power but that is not the only reason for her return. John is silent. At this point, a voice comes from inside the room. It is the Empress.

The Empress of Gules states that it is much simpler than all of that. John stands in front of the Queen with his guard up and notices that the Empress never entered through the door. Anahita stands in the center of the room. She begins to walk toward them as she reassures John that the Queen is in no more danger than he is. The Queen has only told him what she knows but she doesn't know all of it. The Empress reaches them and states that she will help them see the truth. She touches both of them as all three then appear on the roof of the Palace Athene. She has teleported them there with the Shift power.

I like all of this as well and it seems to be pretty straight forward so far. The other characters apart from John don't need to be checked back in with, they can just appear when they need to. The only thing I take issue with is figuring out why Anahita can shift all of them to the roof. It is basically there as an interesting way to move them from point a to b but it brings up the question of how she is able to do this because this go against the limits of the powers that I have set up. My initial thought is that this would be the Resonating Artifact and introduce it here. She would be using the Resonating Artifact. It will basically build toward having the Rogues use this immensely powerful artifact. The characters will know firsthand how powerful using the Artifact can be. However, that leads to questions of Simon Perish. He knows that they are yet unstable so would not condone using it. They are still experiments that he has been working on at the Empress' request. 

He has made 3 prototypes but has told Anahita that they are still unstable and should not be used yet. I can make a fourth but it would then require some kind of explanation I believe. Namely that Anahita could be using one against Simon's wishes but I feel like that should be something that would need to be shown. 

This could work but only if the Resonating Artifact was shown taking it's toll or nearly kill her. Otherwise Simon's explanation of why the Empress is so powerful would then require him to speak about why she won't have the Artifacts later so essentially the dangers of the Artifact would be shown off screen and that just doesn't seem to work.

Now here is where it gets tricky. I could have Simon, "killed" or seem to be killed when he saves Aletheia. I have sort of already done that. Then Anahita could fight her way out of the Trionfi assault then before she teleports in front of everyone, she had gone to Simon's lab and retrieved a Resonating Artifact. However, she should have already taken one if she is able to teleport three people to the roof as that is pretty powerful. While I may be able to explain that away...I can't explain away the fact that she would not be able to get an Artifact right before she teleports the Palace entrance because they should have already been taken by the Strange Man.

See the point of having the strange man enlist the Warlock is so that he can leave the city before any of this starts. I do like that. It seems to be a strong idea but it's pulled apart by the things listed above. 

If the Strange Man did not enlist the Warlock and simply let the Trionfi in. Why and how would he travel all the way back to the Palace and actually confront Anahita when he could use that time to take the Resonating Artifacts, if he didn't already have them before he left to open the Gate. The Warlock was basically being used by the Strange Man as a diversion and the Strange man could have already left or used the diversion to obtain the Artifacts. That seems to work the best.

ANGRA MANYU

John and the Emerald Queen find themselves in a Garden on top of the Palace Athene. The Djinn stands in front of several statues along with Emerald King Zhunar and two guards posted behind them. Anahita seems disoriented for a moment before walking over to the platform that the Djinn stands on. 

Both John and the Queen find their bearings. Anahita confirms that she is the Ahura Mazda and by extension, the Angra Manyu. The Djinn knows that it was John at the Chinvat Bridge when it was opened. John was present at the Gate of Eternity and has witnessed the Empress's rebirth. The Djinn, who she calls Simon Perish, had used a what is called the Akashic Mirror to release her from Eternity. Simon Perish has removed his mask and he appears to have antlers that are growing. They knows that the Ecliptics have it now and that they have used it to find other Champions. They learned of this from the Emerald King. The Empress states that to put it plainly she wants the Mirror from the Ecliptics. 

John is confused as to why she wants the mirror. She tells him that she seeks the Akashic Mirror to find the remaining Divine Powers. John is unfamiliar with the term and suggests that she wants the Mirror to find more Champions to steal more powers. John asks why as she seems to be plenty powerful already.

The Empress Anahita states that she doesn't want more power in the general sense. She continues that the Divine Powers are powers of the 7 Archons. She seeks them to allow her to break the Cycle of Life called Samsara. This will sever the connection between Life and Death and grant immortality to the world. The 7 Divine Powers will help her rid the world of all death. She makes it clear that she would like Vailen to join Meridian in such a virtuous endeavor. 

The Emerald King attempts to plead to John that it would be for the benefit of everyone. He had not taken the thought lightly when the Empress offered him something more than Royalty. They could have everlasting life. Anahita reinforces that he would be not just the Emerald King but the EverKing. John has the opportunity to be a truly Noble Champion. A Champion of Change. Everyone would be free from the confines of death and the restrictions of life. Free to always be with the people they care about most.

The Queen is resistant and reminds the King that they would sever that which makes them human. John is pensive and begins to speak that he believes that what she is doing could be considered righteous. He agrees that if he was involved and were to help them, he could be a true Champion of Change. He states that this reminds him of what he was told about the Empress when he knew her to be the Angra Manyu. 

John begins to speak that he had once been told of a being from another realm called the Angra Manyu. It could be that Simon had heard of this being as the Ahura Mazda. He tells them that there were opposing view of what this being from Eternity represented. There were also differing views of whether she wanted to save the world or destroy it. But regardless if the being was a savior or destroyer, one thing was certain from both perspectives. She would wish to enact great change upon the world. But true change always requires sacrifice. John asks what she intends to sacrifice to bring about this change. 

Simon seems somewhat concerned and turns to the Empress who is silent. She says that John is right that changing the world does require sacrifice. But she tells John that he cannot comprehend what sacrifice truly means. She tells him that he has never been dead so how could he understand. To truly give up something. Anahita begins to swirl around several spears in the air. To end Samsara she will need to destroy the Afterlife.

Simon looks alarmed at her but the others are silent. Anahita is pleased at the silence and continues. She asks if he knew that the Afterlife is real and not just an idea taken on Faith. She continues that death itself is a remnant of a broken system and the Afterlife isn't a place of sanctuary but of despair. She speaks of the despair that comes from loss. Loss of Life. She speaks about how she learned of despair in the abyss of Eternity. You never again see those you have lost.You can never find them in Eternity. The spears begin to swirl around them and John stands in front of the Queen. The Emerald King protests at this. She states that she wanted John's cooperation to obtain the Akashic Mirror but he would rather make this difficult.

The Emerald King comes and stands in front of the Queen and draws his blade. He tells her that she will not harm the Emerald Queen. Anahita tells him that she knew his resolve was too tender to stand with her. To seek the greater good. To end the pain that comes from loss. The Emerald King states that she never stated what the true cost was. Anahita asks why they cling to something that they have never truly known. Something so tangential that most don't believe in it's existence. The spears then surround the three. She would have had Vailen be her ally but she will take the Mirror by force if necessary. She will burn both Vailen and Istoria to ash if she has to. She suggests that perhaps she could show them firsthand the despair she has known.

As she says this, The Nullifying Dagger hits the wood of a nearby tree. Simon Perish draws his sword as the spears drop around John and the Emerald Royals. The Empress is confused and Simon looks around to see Aletheia and Morgandy emerge and come to John and the Queen. Morgandy has her spear and Aletheia has her sword.

Ok. So everything up to here works just fine, the next part is where things must alter slightly. For one thing, anything shown must be from either John or Aletheias perspective. Anything shown from Anahita or Simon must be told to the characters directly from them at some other point. 

The major alteration here the Warlock's power and whether or not the Strange Man is present. I feel like it would be more impactful if he is but it may not be necessary. To begin with the Warlock no longer needs to pretend to be the Strange Man. That would be a confusing conceit to begin with and serves no purpose then to muddle things. 

A. The Warlock confronts the characters in pretty much the same way. The dialogue between he and Anahita will obviously change here though because they do not know each other. Here, the Warlock will use the Trionfi to his advantage and leave just like it was previously written. I think the only thing that changes here is the dialog. He does however know John and the others obviously. No powers will be used because the Warlock will not immediately make clear what is going on besides that the Strange Man has betrayed them. Also because he knows that John and the others can stop powers. He then orders the Trionfi to fire on them similarly to how it was written previously.

B. If the Strange Man is present here, he will make it clear of what his intentions are right away and unleash the Warlock on the characters. This would be tricky though because it should be noted that the Nullifying Dagger is still present here. Either that or he could easily just make his appearance and state his intentions leaving the Trionfi to defeat the Empress and let the Warlock appear in the courtyard afterward. This seems a little short sighted though because it would lead to questions as to why he would think the Trionfi could defeat the Empress when he had the Warlock as his trump card. Also why would he confront anyone when it seems that he could have simply fled with the Resonating Artifacts. Ok well here is the thing, this sequence requires too many hoops to jump through and the other is much simpler so the Strange Man will not be present here. The Warlock will be but will not see it necessary to use his powers yet.

AHURA MAZDA

Anahita is confused and asks Aletheia what she has done referring to her as the Moon Princess. Simon is shocked as he recognizes Aletheia as his daughter and speaks her real name, Surya. He begins to lower his guard. Aletheia hears this but is unsure of who the man is and what he is speaking of. John holds the Nullifying Dagger and says that the Empress has no more power here. Simon recognizes the Dagger as an Artifact and wonders how they have obtained one. John claims the Empress leans too heavily on her powers but should know that the Champion Coalition are much more than just their abilities.

John then states that all the same, they would like to thank the Empress for her courtesy but they will decline her induction into the Coalition. Anahita states that she has had enough and The Paladins rush them. Morgandy, John and the King make short work of them and John tells Anahita that it is over. The Djinn will stand down and she will relinquish the city once more to the Emerald King. 

Anahita begins to approach the Ecliptics. She states that they must think highly of their skills. More Paladins show up and advance with the Empress. Anahita then states that she will relinquish nothing and they are fools for believing her defeated so easily. A voice is then heard from behind, agreeing and stating that pride is unfit for fools. Anahita turns to see that it is the Strange Man.

Anahita asks the Strange Man where he has been and he asks her to forgive him. He states that he had to accommodate so many for the Fete. Many Trionfi then appear behind him with crossbows. He then states that but the preparations are all in order now. Crossbow bolts are fired at them that kill all of the Paladins with an arrow hitting the Empress in the shoulder. The Ecliptics duck as John calls to Aletheia as she pulls the Queen aside. 

Simon rushes and blocks a stray arrow from hitting Aletheia. It becomes lodged in his forearm but another has hit him in the heart. She is confused but he looks at her knowingly. Aletheia doesn't know what to do but Simon tells her that she needs to leave. She is unable to move at first but he tells John to take them and go. Anahita turns to the Strange Man and states that he has chosen to betray her as well. She pulls out the arrow as she cites how her loyalty is becoming so hard to find. The Strange Man agrees with the Noble Champion that she has overextended herself. She may be the returned Empress of Gules but the world has changed. It has no place for her anymore. 

Anahita disagrees. She states that the world has not changed only the people in it. She then asks if his allegiances have always been with the Ecliptics. He responds that he has no love for the Ecliptics and has his own goals. She is not the only one with high aspirations. Simon pulls out the arrows and approaches beside Anahita. The Ecliptics begin to flee behind him. He states that he should have killed the Strange Man when he had the chance. The Strange Man states that he is not the only one there that has missed that chance. He tells the Trionfi that they know what to do and then turns to leave. Aletheia stops and looks back and she sees Simon preventing the Trionfi from getting past him. John urges her and they leave.

Simon begins to fight the advancing Trionfi as they surround him and the Empress. He tells her that she will find her strength has returned. She then raises the swords once again with her powers and the two begin to fight the Trionfi.

A. Ok so then things happen pretty much the same way as before, except John and Aletheia will not completely separate from the Emerald Royals and Morgandy. They will still have the scene in the dining area but will then be prompted to follow the Queen down the secret passage to escape. This works fine. They could even see the lab through this secret passage perhaps. If this is the case, what is the point of separating them at all? The reasoning behind this though was that I wanted them to see the lab but the whole deal with the lab may not be necessary now that the Resonating Artifacts are more pronounced in a minute. I may or may not have them be separated at all. It only slows things down. The lab may not be necessary either.

B. Same thing except John and Aletheia, are separated and then find their way out through the lab. They escape and run into Sam and Shoshanna. I am really not sure about all of this as it just seems too convenient. I would like Sam and Shoshanna to simply appear later with King Dalton and his troops. That means that separating the King, Queen, Morgandy and John and Aletheia seems counter intuitive. For some reason I would have some type of fear depicting more than 3 characters in any given scene and splitting them up is something I am always trying to do. So A it is.

A. So they escape through the lab or just escape and come out of a secret passage into the foliage of the main courtyard and entrance to the Palace. Then the scene happens the same way. An arrow flies at them from behind hitting Aletheia in the leg. She falls and they all turn and find that it is the Warlock on horseback along with many Trionfi. 

John helps Aletheia up as the Warlock greets them and tells him that they are very resilient. John asks him what he wants with them, he has already taken the Palace. The Empress then appears in front of the Ecliptics and states that he has taken nothing. Immediately she uses her Telekinesis to fling both groups back. The Strange Man, most of the Trionfi as well as their horses are sent flying. Aletheia loses the Nullifying Dagger as it bounces out of reach. 

The problem here is that Anahita cannot do this as of yet. The reason being that Telekinesis can only move what can normally be picked up and certainly not that much more than one's own weight. She will not have a Resonating Artifact at this point so will not be able to break these rules. She could potentially push someone down but not send them and their horses flying. Again the point of this part is to first show that Anahita is powerful but also show the Resonating Artifact and what it can do. So the first part was already shown in the gardens and the second part is demonstrated here where Anahita will....Actually, why not have the fight take place in the Gardens. Oh because the Resonating Artifact is still out.

B. So the Warlock has confronted everyone and talks for a bit. The focus is on Anahita and the Warlock who is slightly above the others as there are stairs leading to the courtyard. Since the Warlock knows that the Nullifying Artifact will inhibit powers, this plays in his favor. Then 4 Trionfi appear and fire arrows at them all with repeater crossbows. At this point, it will not be known what the Warlock or the Strange Man wants but it will be known that this is the Strange Man's doing. 

Two Paladins are killed while two others Paladins block the Empress. The Royals and Morgandy have gotten behind pillars. John and Aletheia turn and dive out of the way. They look up to see that Simon has blocked the arrows and he is hit in the forearm and chest. They are now mostly out of view in the courtyard. Anahita recovers and the Warlock reveals that it appears the Strange Man wanted something in the Palace. More Trionfi arrive and the Warlock leaves. Simon pulls out the arrows and tells them that they need to leave. John asks why he would help them and he looks at Aletheia and tells them to go.

There are only 2 Paladins with Anahita. Simon then stands with Anahita and the two Paladins. They are surrounded by Trionfi. Other Trionfi head toward John's group and they rush to leave.

CASTLE OF CARDS

The Ecliptics then make their escape through the halls of the Palace Athene. John and the Emerald King lead the way, fighting off several Trionfi as they run down a stairway. They see Trionfi battling Paladins throughout the castle which is now in chaos. They reach a hallway where, a line of Trionfi with crossbows sees them. They fire arrows, forcing them against cover. 

Aletheia throws a vase and calls to Morgandy who breaks the vase midair and manipulates the water. She then sends arrows of water down the hall toward the Trionfi, incapacitating them. The Queen states that she knows a hidden passage that will get them out. She leads them down another hallway but before they can all go, John is tackled over the edge of the balcony by a soldier. Aletheia calls out to him and looks over seeing John land on a table below. She immediately begins to climb over the ledge. Morgandy objects but Aletheia tells her to keep going, she will meet them outside. She then slides down a tapestry.

John comes to on the table and catches his breath. He lifts his head realizing that he has landed in a large dining area and looks around. All around him the dead bodies of innocents lie about the room. The Trionfi that had knocked John over comes to and unsheathes his sword. Aletheia attacks him and defeats him. She is outmatched in swordplay but uses her powers to knock out the mercenary with a punch to the face.

She helps John up off of the table and they speculate that this must have been the King's retinue. Guests of the Palace Athene that were also to attend the fete. At this, more Trionfi burst into the room and the pair run back up another set of stairs. 

Aletheia leads them into a room down the hall to escape their pursuers. The room appears to be some kind of lab. Inside the lab are all manner of potions and glass containers. Chemicals and notes are strewn about the room on tables with various unknown experiments. John blocks the door with a bookcase and remarks that it looks like Sam's laboratory. Aletheia pulls the rope from her pack and ties it to a fixture and tosses it out the window. They begin to climb out.

John begins to climb out as well. They are almost down when the fixture breaks dropping them to the foliage below. They land in front of Sam and Shoshanna who are just as surprised to see them. They greet each other and make sure they are alright. Shoshanna asks what happened and where her sister is. John states that they were separated but Morgandy and the Emerald Royals should be outside the walls by now.

Sam states that they saw the Trionfi enter the city along with the Warlock and came to warn them. John is surprised that the Warlock is there. Aletheia says they should discuss this elsewhere as the group is still within the exterior wall of the Palace. They all agree and begin to make their way out of the brush. They emerge in the main courtyard where several Meridian guards lay dead. They see the gate to the Palace and rush towards it. Before they can reach it they hear a voice yell to them as an arrow hits Aletheia in the leg. She falls and they all turn and find that it is the Strange Man on horseback along with many Trionfi. 

Now here is also where things need to change. The characters can get separated but they do not meet up with the others. John and Aletheia come together the same way and make their way through to the lab. This makes it somewhat clearer when the Resonating Artifacts are introduced in a second.

They then find a way out where the Strange Man is preparing to leave with the Warlock. This is where the Strange Man gives the Warlock one of the Resonating Artifacts. It is now clear what he was doing and why but no one knows what the Artifact does. The Resonating artifacts are a bracelet, a ring, an earring, and a medallion. This one is the ring.

We can assume for the time being that what happens is the Strange Man lets his full force into the city and then returns to the Palace with the Warlock. The Warlock then confronts Anahita himself while the Strange Man steals the Resonating Artifacts. He then prepares to leave toward the Moon Palace. (I don't know how he knows where this is. It is possible that each High Champion has a Power Codices for their region, ie. Vailen Power Codices/ Meridian Power Codices but then that negates the need for Anahita to want the Akashic Mirror.) 

That means there is only one codices. The characters confront him before he can leave and he gives an Artifact to the Warlock who then kills the King of Meridian. Anahita intervenes and

Goddammit I can't get all of these ideas to work together. Perhaps there is no mirror. Maybe the only way to open gate is to touch when the light of the full moon hits it. No mirror. There is still an Akashic Record though. It seems too complicated. Fine. So no Akashic Mirror.

The characters just go around and log Champions into the Codices. So Anahita calls them to learn about the Codices and get the Coalition's help with finding the Divine Powers. She needs the Champion Power Codices from them. She knows of this because of the Emerald King. That is fine, we can just fudge that the Strange Man knows the location of the Moon Temple as well due to his time in hiding. Fine. 

Now again Anahita wants the Codices to find our where other Champions are since the Codices contain the location of Champions. No Mirror just the locations of other Champions so that she can find the Divine Powers. Fine. The Strange Man uses this instance to steal the 4 Resonating Artifacts, remnants that Simon Perish created and abandoned 30 years ago. He had created them in Helena but they did not work. They were unstable so he abandoned them in a secret lab. He had then created a 5th for Victor Noble, John's father. This was then found by his mother Rene when she visited his grave. Before she died, she tasked her friend Basildes to give it to John. Basildes also became John's caretaker for a time.

The Strange Man found out about the Resonating Artifacts after allying himself with Anahita. He decided to take them to give to the prisoners in the Moon Temple that John had locked up and gain a powerful following of Champions. One that could destroy the Champion Coalition and Anahita so that he could rule the west. He saw his opportunity after taking Meridian and inviting John to Helena. He sent word to his men the Trionfi and also saw an opportunity to test the group with the Warlock, a Trionfi mercenary. 

The Warlock confronts them blah blah blah. Then the characters escape the Palace. John falls over the balcony into the throne room and drops the Nullifying Dagger. The Strange Man is present and gives a Resonating Artifact to the Warlock before he then leaves and the Warlock demonstrates his newfound power. He kills several Paladins and comes toward John. John comes to as the King attacks the Warlock. The Warlock hits him with a powerful bolt of Lightning that throws him to the wall, knocking him out. The Queen cries out.

The throne room is getting wrecked by the Warlock who approaches John. Aletheia runs to him when Anahita teleports in throws the Warlock to the wall. The characters recover and help the Emerald King. There is a short conversation where the Warlock reveals what the Resonating Artifacts is and he attacks Anahita with lightning. She blocks it and they begin to fight in the throne room. Anahita teleports them both around the room.

The characters are able to lift the King. They grab the Dagger and attempt to exit the throne room but more Trionfi burst in. and find their way outside. They attempt to exit the Palace gates when Trionfi then surround them and block their path. Smoke

King Dalton and Istorian Soldiers 

Anahita and the Warlock's duel leads them to the courtyard where the 

RESONATING ARTIFACTS

He hits a nearby pillar and is revealed to be the Warlock. He had created the Illusion that he was the Strange Man which fades. The Ecliptics recover, still shocked by her power.

She calmly walks toward the Warlock but seems to be fatigued. She raises him off the floor and states that he will tell her everything. The Warlock states frantically that The Man in the Bird Mask came to him. He was to be executed but the Strange Man saved him. In return, he told the Warlock what to do. The Warlock pleads to her that he was only following orders. The Trionfi recover but no one moves. They are afraid of her. Paladins begin to emerge from the Palace and stand by.

Anahita pushes the Warlocks back toward a spear holding statue and asks what orders. The Warlock states to distract her. the Strange Man had hoped that the Ecliptics and the Empress would defeat each other but he did not intend to take Meridian. He wanted something from that she has. Some type of Gem. Anahita shows him a ring with a sizable Emerald in it and asks if this is what he means. The Warlock states that it is. He states that the Strange Man already left with the Jewels before the evening began. She is silent but then raises the Trionfi up around them. They begin to choke and The Ecliptics look on in horror. 

She asks where he took them and what he has done with the other Resonating Artifacts. She begins to push him into the spear. The Warlock cries out and yells that he doesn't know what the Strange Man was planning to do with them. He thought they were just Jewels. 

Aletheia reaches to unsheathe the Nullifying Dagger when arrows of fire land in the courtyard. They hit near Anahita and she uses the Warlock as a shield for an arrow that hits him in the back. The Ecliptics turn to see the Emerald Royals and Morgandy on horseback as well as King Thomas and a small band of Istorian Knights. The King had made his way across the Meridian borders to assist the Ecliptics in their escape if necessary.

John helps Aletheia get on a horse as the Istorians provide cover fire. The Paladins take cover but Anahita does not move. She throws the Warlock away and raises a spear. John tells Aletheia to use the Dagger and she unsheathes it. Before she can Anahita has thrown the spear at John. The Emerald King pushes him out of the way and it hits him in the chest. The Queen cries out. 

John recovers as they all look on. King Thomas breaks the spear and tells him they must go. He will provide cover for them, he has to lead his friends to safety. John is hesitant but he mounts a horse and the Istorian Knights put the Emerald King on behind John. In the ensuing chaos the characters recover and flee the city. They ride out from the postern gate and into the forest away from Meridian.