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Thanks for running, Supervillan. I had a great time. Too bad that we couldn't find a way for Yndra to stay on; it just wasn't feasible to retrain all of my class levels with the PP that I had. It was a great way to say goodbye to this character. Who knows, maybe if Roidira ever becomes legal in PFS2 I'll remake her. :)
Yndra isn't thrilled at being placed under a Mark of Justice - it hadn't been too long ago that she herself dispensed justice on behalf of Nethys - but she readily accepts to the terms of Al-Sabha. She takes a few moments to address her companions before submitting to those formalities. "Fellow Pathfinders, it seems our paths separate here. I am grateful for your companionship on this mission. I will write to the Grand Lodge. If you see our Venture-Captain before my letters gets there, please explain that I will not return for the foreseeable future. My work is here. Also please convey my gratitude to the Master of Spells, for all her teachings." After the mandatory precautions have been seen to, Yndra sets off into the city to rejoin the Roidirans. She still feels awkward and uncomfortable in the Qadiran heat, but settles in as best she can. Heading Ah-Sahba's words she keeps a low profile and urges the Roidirans following her to do likewise. She advises them to pick up a normal life of their own, while frequently coming together in the tea rooms of Qaharid to discuss philosophy and the uncertainty inherent to Roidira's Everlasting Road.
Yndra is serious when the topic of Julius comes up. "I think we could come up with the proper compensation, for the sake of the city and the people here. We would have, if that is what Julius would have wanted. Instead, we believed that his wish was not to be raised, would this be his fate. We accept his wishes in this matter..." She swallows uncomfortable at the realization that her course may have put her at odds with the satrap's wishes. "Right. Now that you say it, we could have known as much." She thinks for a moment. "All of this is quite new to me, and I still need to get acquainted with the Roidirans here. However, from my experiences with the supplicants at the shrine, I am confident that we can end their threat here." "That leaves the matter of the White Feather, and what to tell the satrap. Like my companion Mr. Graves said, we have heard the rumours that the White Feather and Roidira might be the same entity. It isn't obvious to me; both seem to have quite different tenets. However, we... I have experienced that the teachings of Roidira - as I have interpreted them - are quite different from what the Roidirans here in the city believed. We cannot rule out that the White Feather's teachings might have similarly diverged. If you were to ask me honestly, though... I do not feel any kinship for them at the moment, and would probably be hard-pressed to find any traction with them." She thinks again. "Since we cannot be sure either way, I believe we should treat them as two seperate - unrelated - schools of thought."
Yndra isn't quite comfortable at being the sudden centre of attention, but she shoulders it bravely. In the morning, she has lost her black and white clothing, opting instead for her regular hot weather outfit in neutral tan. During the voyage back to Qaharid she speaks extensively with the Roidirans, both speaking and asking a lot of questions. She even tries to make contact with those who will not follow her, to check on whether they might cause any problem upon returning to civilization. -- Yndra listens quietly as Tsschas recounts their tale. She half-shrugs at being proclaimed the new Prophet of Roidira, still getting used to that position. When it's her turn, she addresses al-Sahba with great respect. "High Priestess, Tsjas speaks true of what we encountered. I might shed some further light on the motives of the Roidiran supplicants; during our trip, I believe that I have come to understand their thinking, somewhat. The mine indeed holds a shrine related to Roidira. However, I believe it was not meant as a reward - as the Roidirans thought - but a test, a very difficult one. They were not prepared properly, and could not bear the result. Which was the cause of their distress. The site is also haunted - by some phantoms which are probably related to Roidira. We did not learn how. I concur that the site should be considered dangerous. Perhaps you might spare some people to guard it, or I could ask some of the Roidirans to take turn and stand vigil." "I have been called a prophet for Roidira. I am not sure I have earned that moniker yet. However, I am willing to stay here and look after the Roidiran, those we found in the mine and those still here in the city, if they want to. Those who want to follow Roidira's path, I will guide them as best as I can. Those who have lost faith, I want to provide new hope for them and maybe show them alternatives causes to believe in. I am confident that they can do so peacefully, once they have been helped over their initial shock and grief."
Whilst there is no legal entry for Roidira as a PFS deity, pathfinder wiki says that some consider her to be an aspect of Irori. It cites the sourcebook "Qadira: Gateway to the East." I suppose you could worship Roidira as Irori. It's not precisely canon, you might get some GMs grumble, but I've occasionally seen other PCs take some licence in the name of character development and the story justifies it imho Taking it here, so as not to clutter up Gameplay any further. I'm reading the text in the wiki a bit differently. Some claim the white feather to be an aspect of Irori. I've read some more on retraining my class entirely. It would be 7 PP per level, or 5 if I retrain into cleric, paladin or ranger. Cleric or paladin would leave me with the same problem (need a PFS-legal deity), ranger just doesn't suit. That leaves other classes (oracle or spiritualist, most likely), at 7 PP per level. That's quite a hefty sum. As I wrote to the GM earlier, I don't think I'll play much PFS1 at this point, so it's probably not worth the hassle. Maybe I'll just stat her up as a deity-less inquisitor for posterity. :)
Yndra's face makes it clear that she doesn't quite agree with Fate, especially on 'discrediting Roidira'. However, she nods her assent with Graves. "As you say, we should return to Qaharid. We should convince the others that this is not the destination that they had in mind." She comes around to the cultist who had spoken to her. "Indeed, I believe it's a test. A viciously tough one, especially for those not prepared. Roidira is not kind to her followers! I myself might only have gained from it what I did because I was not familiar with Her teachings beforehand. Maybe that allowed me to learn what I did." She thinks on the point for a moment. "Indeed, this seems fitting. For a Roidiran to come here, he would have to discard most of what he thought he knew. Which is very difficult, especially if one believes that this shrine is the entire goal of the journey." She holds her arms wide, trying to include all of the Roidirans. "Let us leave this place. I am not an expert, but I believe that Roidira does not promise answers. Rather, she deliberately promises not to provide them. Her path does not have an end, at this shrine or anywhere else. It is up to her followers to find answers within themselves. Roidira's Everlasting Road may not be for everyone... For those who wish to continue, we will set them on the path again - in peace! For those who do not have the heart to continue, we will guide them to other teachings, to give them purpose in life again." She follows up with a few quick words to Graves and her other companions. "You are right, Qadira did not agree with me so far. But it seems I am needed here, for these people and for my own benefit. I believe I have much to learn from them, as well."
Yndra considers Tsschas's proposal. "You might," she replies. "I think the results won't be conclusive, but the Society might be interested either way." Her words sounds the slightest bit detached. She then returns her attention to the Roidirans. "Ah. She told you in a vision. It must be absolute truth then... What was the inscription at the stairs? All lies are truth. All trust are lies." She lets the words ring for a moment. "Would Roirida want you to take Her words at face value...?" She allows the question to sink in, then continues. "Something else to consider, perhaps. There is no presence, there is only absence. This seems to mean that Roidira is not a deity that is easily found. Or found at all. Her warmth cannot be felt on the skin by standing outside on a clear day, like Sarenrae. She does not assert herself when I produce magic, like Nethys. She's doesn't smile on those who get drunk and do stupid things, like that oaf Cayden." She scoffs at the notion. "I consider this shrine a test, for the faith and understanding of Roidirans. Does her Road have an easy ending, with clear answers? Or it is a puzzle to work out, for oneself and to be cracked without Her guidance? Does that not bring true understanding, for someone to solve the riddle themselves instead of being told the answer?"
Graves' words pull Yndra out of her reverie. "You may be right. Something to put us in a trance, I suppose. To allow us to hear what we needed to." Her eyes both focus normally on Graves as she speak. She doesn't appear to be cross-eyed any more. "I am well, Tsjas," she adds. "Thank you for asking." She then replies to the Roidiran cultists. Her voice, again, is very calm."What makes you so sure that she does not exist? And even if that were the case, would her Road not be worth walking even without a 'reward' at the end of it?"
GM: Yndra clutches at the edge of the basin to keep her consciousness through the pain. She listens in rapture as Roidira speaks. At what seems like a final farewell Yndra leans forward, grasping out with her hands. "Please, do not go! I will… Your path, I could… I would follow it…" She steels herself to find the courage for what she has to say. "You are right of course, that Your presence and doing is beyond my understanding. And these people have indeed butchered your teachings, twisting them beyond reason or worth. But… But...What of others, who might be set on Your Path, in good faith? Who might come to understand, as I have, that there is not an end to knowledge and enlightenment, but that Your way is of ever-changing beliefs, building and tearing down again, so that new wisdom may be built on the rubble of the old. Please, do not let the world be left without this path. Let me guide those who are worthy of walking Roidira's Road, without destination…" Yndra bows her head, afraid to look at the overwhelming presence of the Dark Sister after her words.
At Roidia's final question, Yndra has a sudden epiphany. She stands and gestures emphatically as she speaks. "No. There can never be true knowledge. Maybe you are just an elaborate magical conjuration, and I might never be able to tell the difference." She barks a mirthless laugh suddenly. "All of this," she sweeps her staff in a wide arc, including her companions and Roidira alike, "could be a fever dream. Maybe I've been unconscious in Janderhoff for the past three years, the result of my accident." She paces while muttering, her right eye darting in all directions. "Maybe... Maybe it goes even further than that," she resume speaking, although not addressing Roidira any more, at this point. "What if... What if I was never real to begin with, the figment of someone else's imagination? A puppet that cannot see the wires, and is only under the illusion of free will..."
Yndra grits her teeth and stays on her knees as she feels the displeasure of Roidira bear down on her. She knows that she could heal herself, she has the magic at her disposal. But she chooses to accept the punishment instead. As the questions follow, the idea that this is not Roidira herself fades to the background. "I do," Yndra answers, still kneeling. "I have experienced the nothingness, the hollow that comes from a cataclysm which shakes one to the core and leaves one feeble and uncertain." She pauses slightly. "But I do not believe such nothingness is the end. It is a void which leaves room - makes room - for new things."
Yndra notes that the entity didn't answer - or even acknowledge - her greeting. That wouldn't be out of the question if she were an actual deity, or if this is some form of scripted magic. Doesn't help us, either way. She considers the question for a moment. What should one say? The only things so say, connection to Roidira, are the phrases in the mine here. And the passphrase, of course. And why? "My answer is as follows..." Yndra stresses the first word. She's not comfortable making a decision for the entire group. This way, they could either concur with her, or maybe form their own answer as a way to hedge their bets. She shapes the answers in a way as to cover both her own understanding of Roidira's teachings, and what the cultists seem to have made of it. She's intrigued enough by Roidira to want actual answers, but is wary of going along so far that she might be ensnared by a malevolent presence, same as would have happened to the cultists. This is going to be a fine line to thread. "A Roidiran should say that all discoveries reflect the beholder, but that he is at peace beneath Your black wings. With this, he acknowledges the difficulty in accepting new truth and wisdom when one already has a... a frame of reference, preconceptions on what is true. Nonetheless, he shows faith in You and a willingness to find new meaning and truth in Your words, showing that he is prepared to question all that he holds true, so that there is room for new knowledge and wisdom."
Yndra purposefully strides up to the pool. She notes the glowing writing, and is reminded to approach with caution. Such thoughts are momentarily forgotten as the dark figure appears. Yndra cannot help but stare in awe for a moment. She feels the urge to drop down on her knees, but resists the impulse. Her left hand reaches for her braid and grips it tight to ground herself. As she looks away to avoid Roidira's gaze, her eyes fall upon the writing once again. ...reflect the beholder. This reminds her not to take everything at false value. Doubt everything, and keep a clear head. Yndra isn't sure that they are in the presence of the actual Roidira, or even an aspect of the deity. Maybe this is a malevolent presence shaped by the ideas of the original cultists who came here, tempting them into madness. Or it actually is a conduit to the Dark Sister of knowledge. She's not sure which of the two would scare her more. Yndra takes a deep breath and tightens the grip on her braid. "Exalted Lady, I thank You for appearing to us. I have come with an open mind. Please allow me a question first. The enlightenment You promise, how can we be certain" - she uses that word very deliberately - "that Yours is the true enlightenment, and does not lead to madness?" Her eyes dart to the supplicants arranged around the pool.
Yndra heaves a sigh, feeling for the cultists who have been through so much pain. She keeps holding up her hand, calmly letting them know that they should keep their distance. They seem too far gone to reason with, but she cannot leave them entirely empty-handed. "There are always two forces at work, in every situation. Destruction and creation, certainty and doubt, hope and despair. Even if one side takes the upper hand on occasion." She thinks of her own past and the great incident that burned her out, the memories hazy but ever-present. "The universe is resilient though, as is mankind. There is recovery - in time - even from the greatest cataclysm..."
Yndra is on high alert when the meditating cultists to the south rise on their approach. "Well, at least they're not so far gone as the others," she whispers to the others under her breath. The heart of the shrine to the northeast draws to her, but she's not quite comfortable leaving the group of other cultists - possibly hostile in their backs by pushing on. She holds out a hand - open palm forward - and hails them as she tries to gauge their interest. "Hello... I am quite intrigued by the teachings of Roidira," she says truthfully. "I would like to learn more."
Feeling for the cultist and his plight, Yndra puts a hand on his shoulder. Her demeanor seems softer and gentler than it was before. "Hang in there. Whatever happened here, we'll try to figure it out." With nothing else to be done for the moment, Yndra turns her back to the cultist. "We should push on. Take the turn to the right?"
Yndra looks puzzled at Tsschas and Graves. "Really? You don't think the writings make sense? That their purpose is to confuse rather than educate?" She follows close behind Graves when he approaches the cultist. On the one hand she's wary of a violent confrontation, but getting one to talk might shed some light on what happened here.
Yndra boldly strides forward, not daunted by the dark mine. If anyone needs light, they should have brought it. She's not about to offer that she, as a follower of the God of Magic, can't even perform a simple light cantrip. Seeing the two mirrored stones with their inscription has Yndra fascinated. She positions herself close to one of the walls, trying to see both at once using the mirrors. "I think it fits with what we've theorized before, Poe," Yndra answers the Grippli. "Roidira seems to encourage her followers to see two sides of each argument. Everything we hold for true might turn out to be wrong. Calling it a 'lie' is a bit bold, but only by opening ourselves up to the possibility of being wrong can we allow for new insight. The other part is the same, only the other way around. Anything we think is folly might hold truth, even if we don't know or understand it yet. But we shouldn't dismiss it out of hand." She's lost in thought for a moment, and for once both of her eyes seem at rest. "The way I see it, the teachings of Roidira - what little we've seen so far - are really quite moderate and... delicate. But I could see how they could easily be distorted into... whatever these cultists made of it." However interesting the inscriptions, she knows the group should press on. She tries to keep her voice low. "Shall we stick to the left and move onwards? If whoever up ahead has light, our own lights shouldn't immediately give away our presence."
"Very well. If we're all ready, let's proceed then. Now that we're here, I'm eager - like Tsjas - to get to the bottom of this. Seeing these writings of Roidira really has me curious to see where things went wrong." She stowes her healing wand and takes her place in the marching order to explore the mine.
Yndra wipes some sweat from her brow and pokes at the wound on her arm. "So, it seems like we got off decently lucky then. We'd never leave a fellow Pathfinder out to dry, Tem. Even if he's.... in a state such as yours." She makes a quick check to see whether the Roidirans are still catatonic. When there's no further danger, she retrieves a slender wand from her belt. "Tsjas, do you need healing as well?" She activates the wand once, and then twice more when the wound turns out more resilient than even two charges could deal with. She glares at the wand before the puts if back. "Tem, does the presence of these phantoms - or their ectoplasm - inhibit magic in any way?" She's suddenly highly interested, feeling as if the wand's magic were less then expected. --
"So much for keeping our ranks closed," Yndra huffs when she finds herself assaulted from all side. She manages to avoid the first few attacks, with one of them glancing off her breastplate. However, that took her attention so much that the phantom in charge manages to slip past her defenses. "Ugh!"
The dwarven woman finds that the touch sends a shiver through her spine, but she grits her teeth. "Is that the best you've got? You think I haven't suffered worse in my life?!" Her right eye makes jerky motions as she turns and steps in between Tem and Zarisha. "Here, take this!" She swings her staff again, in a wide arc this time.
Yndra steps up besides Graves to complete their battle line, whipping her head around to get her braid out of the way. "You got the password right, as far as I can tell. It slowed the spirits, at least." She keeps a close watch on the human cultists to her right, to see if they heard and respond to the passphrase. "If they decide to join in, we could have a nasty situation on our hands." Bolstered by Fate's blessing and Nethys's favor, Yndra goes for a powerful blow. She heaves her staff high and brings it down on the phantom in front of her will full power, wrinkled face red with the strain.
Yndra feels for the Grippli, caught up with a companion he is obviously not able to confront. She's about to speak up, but Tem's rage gives even her pause. When Tem strikes the phantom, those thoughts are pressed aside by more pressing matters. --
"Here we go," Yndra sighs. She had somehow hoped to confront the spirits without confrontation. "Couldn't we have at least tried to talk to them?" she calls to Tem. "Maybe we could have learned something about their situation..." Preparing for a difficult fight, Yndra calls to her patron. "Nethys, All-Seeing Eye, grant me your favor in this fight, so that I may continue to do your work."
Yndra is glad to see the Grippli speak up, soft as his voice may be. "I think it works both ways. Or at least, it may have been meant that way originally. Only by rejecting certainty, by allowing doubt, can one come to new understandings. And even that new understanding should be subject to doubt. It does not itself become certainty. That would lead to staleness. But what the Roidirans have made of that seems like a perversion..." --
Yndra nods as Fate explains about the phantoms, even if he seems to know more about them then she does. "They are anguished, all right. Trapped here? What I'm wondering: Are these spirits victims of whatever happened here, or are they the cause of what's driving the pilgrims mad?" She holds for the moment, not wanting to provoke the spirits. "Poe, everything all right?"
Yndra cautiously greets the two Roidirans. Once she's determined that they are unresponsive by waving a hand across their face, she turns her attention to the statue. "Certainty and understanding cannot coexit," she reads aloud. "Well, that makes sense. But disregarding all common sense and knowledge seems a mockery of this motto." Like Fate, she tunes in to magical auras. Then, she takes a closer look at the statue. "Roidira herself, probably? How long would it have been here?" She looks for signs of age and for other clues, on the statue. --
As soon as its clear that the thrasing in the water dies down, Yndra drops her staff and wades to aid Tem. Despite her age, she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. She similarly aids Tsschas in digging a grave to the gnome. She let's the speech to the Sarenite though, feeling that he he more appropriate things to say than she does. She keeps it simple. "As a Pathfinder, he always knew the danger he was in. But surely he had hoped for a more fitting way to meet his end. Alas, we can't know in advance. Farewell, Julius. You will be missed." --
After that, she turns to the other remains that they found in the lizard's stomach. Tuned in to magic as she is, something caught her eye. A quick casting of detect magic confirms her suspicions. "As I thought, these boots are magical. That's why they withstood being in its stomach so long. They can allow you to walk and run faster. Anyone who needs them in particular?" It doesn't take an mindreader to see that Yndra herself wouldn't mind to keep them, for now at least.
"Hells, no!" Yndra angrily exclaims as the animal disengages. She's already running after it. "We can't let it get away. We owe Julius that much..." She levels her staff at the beast again, but finds the water too murky to target it properly. "At least it seems like a small pool, the bugger can't go anywhere." She makes her way around the water, wary of another sudden attack.
Yndra watches in dismay as her magic barely seems to affect the animal. Her dismay turns to fury when she watches Julius vanish into the creature's maw. "Oh no, you don't! What kind of way to go is that?" She takes a careful step back and levels the twin-serpented at the lizard and invokes its magic. Each head spits a magical bolt that fly without fail at the animal. --
Yndra grunts in dismay as she watches Julius being mauled without any of their group quick enough to save him. "That's not good," she states the obvious. "Hey, pick on someone your own size!" she taunts the beast. Seeing how dire the gnome's situation is, she reaches for the most immediately useful magic she's mastered. After a prayer to Nethys and a few waves of her staff, she opens her mouth wide, but no apparent sound is produced. Still, she hopes the magic will daze the beast, even if only for a moment. She then moves forward, waving her staff menacingly in an attempt to get the lizard to focus on something other than the wounded gnome. --
Yndra is up early, and again wears her new black-and-white hot weather clothing. She also quaffs one of the High Priestesses potions at breakfast. "Magic is meant to be used, isn't?" She seems to be in a better mood than yesterday. -- "They don't seem to be hostile," Yndra answers Tsschas. "But we've heard about the incidents earlier..." She asks Graves to translate a few of the signs, since he seems to be able to read them. "That's troubling indeed. If this is where the Dark Sister of Knowledge leads her followers, they might turn to more violence later. I don't want to guess what happens if they decide that even their search for this new knowledge is meaningless." She flips her braid over the other shoulder. "Let's just get going and see what's the cause of all this."
"Thank you," Yndra answers likewise with a nod of her head. "We'll tread with care. It seems like the Roidirans had no malicious intent, dark as their path me be. If they're victims of something beyond their control, we won't hold it against them." -- Yndra prefers to call it a night and start their trek well-rested. She notices the merchant's one-time offer with some regret: she'd just spent most of her savings on the entwined serpent staff. Maybe later, some magical trinket as a souvenir wouldn't hurt anyone...
"I see," Yndra answers. "I personally don't see the appeal of such a path, but it seems like you White Feathers are being reasonable about it. No need for alarm, for those in power of for innocent bystanders. So, as far as you're concerned it's just the Roidirans making trouble in Qaharid, driven mad by whatever answers they found. If we were to investigate the jungle, would you have any advise for us? Or knowledge that would aid us? Perhaps in helping the Roidirans come to terms with what they've found?" Yndra isn't quite convinced yet that it's just knowledge that has driven them mad - although the teachings of Nethys show that such a thing is possible. She considers it more likely they've found something that's been effecting their minds.
"Yes, we've heard that," Yndra replies, relieved to find that Al-Amiyyah seems to be above the conflict, or at least understanding of the Roidirans. "I don't know enough about the White Feather to weigh the truth of those rumours. Still, those rumours must be founded - at least partially - on the fact that both the Roidirans and the White Feathers are new here, and seemingly both drawn to Qaharid. You don't suppose that's coincidence? What brough you and your fellows here?"
Now that the ice has broken, Yndra also joins the conversation. She nods solemnly as al-Amiyyah mentions the Roidirans. "Yes, we've heard about them. Indeed, they seem to be on a dark path. Converging somewhere in the jungle near here?" She looks carefully whether this sparks any reaction from the woman. "Is it coincidence that they seem to have found something, and that the White Feathers are in the city in such great numbers?"
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