A class on Graymen

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Callesa
Posts: 517
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:45 pm

A class on Graymen

Post by Callesa » Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:08 am

a note: everyone participating was already awarded qps
.........
In the Classroom
[ obvious exits: W ]
Eivor the Tower Accepted is standing here.
Elghin the Journey Accepted is standing here.
A young Tower Guard is on duty here.
Lady Eldrenia the Honored Sister is standing here.
Penzei Perets, Tower Accepted, Yellow Ajah Apprentice is standing here.
A haughty young woman strides by practicing Aes Sedai serenity.

Callesa walks towards the blackboard and writes "GRAYMAN" in huge block letters.

You say 'The ortograph may vary. Sometimes, you see two words, sometimes you see "grey".'

Eivor taps her finger to her lips thoughtfully as she looks at the word on the blackboard

You say 'But in any case, we are talking about one of the saddest and scariest creations of the Shadow.'

Penzei pulls out her customary leather binding with sheets of parchment with a built-in ink bottle at the corner and also her quill.

Eivor finds a seat near Penzei and sits down

You say 'Unlike some other enemies you can face, these are no constructs.'

You say 'They were not bread like the Trollocs, nor twisted from existing species and their combination.'

Elghin clasps her hands behind her back, remaining standing at the back of the classroom and looking more like a diminutive bodyguard than an Accepted, though she does appear to pay close attention.

You say 'Any gray man you ever meet used to be a human being.'

You say 'Every single one of them.'

Eivor frowns, deep in thought

You say 'We don't know how exactly they are created. But we know that they gave up their soul.'

Eivor shivers slightly at the thought

Penzei begins writing down notes about the subject matter trying to remain calm while talking about such dire things.

You say 'So, who can guess what is the difference between a random darkfriend's decision and one taken by a gray man?'

Eivor glances at Penzei and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder

Elghin raises a hand.

You say 'Yes, Elghin'

Eivor turns, cranin her neck, to look back at Elghin

Elghin says 'We call them 'Soulless' in the Three-Fold Lands. Darkfriends retain free will. The Soulless are assassins without such.'

You nod in agreement.

Eivor nods in agreement.

You say 'A darkfriend pledges themselves to serve the Dark One. It is a free will. They can even change their mind, we tend to believe that nobody is so far away in the Shadow to not be able to come back.'

Eivor mutters something under he breath about the extent of "free will" a darkfriend could possibly have

You say 'They can change their mind, even though I suppose the consequences will be harsh. Darkfriends do not forgive.'

You say 'But this is not true about the Soulless, as you well describe them.'

You say 'Their decision was permanent.'

You say 'They no longer have a key part of themselves.'

You say 'What do they gain?'

Callesa looks around the classroom

Elghin raises a hand again.

Eivor considers for a moment, then raises her hand

You say 'Eivor?'

Penzei continues writing, adding notes to the notes...

Elghin lowers her hand, returning to her stoic posturing.

Eivor says 'Some Yellows have said anything short of death can be Healed, is there any help for these creatures in that regard/'

Elghin furrows her brow.

You say 'Unfortunately, their decision is permanent and there seem to be little difference between their state and death. The soul belongs to the Dark One, according to the sources we have.'

You say 'Elghin, what do the Soulless gain in this bargain?'

Elghin clears her throat before speaking. "Lacking a soul makes them harder to notice in crowds. They lose individuality that makes them stand out, and, some Aiel believe they gain a cloak of shadows as well.

Callesa frowns slightly while thinking.

You nod in agreement.

You say 'Yes, they become near imperceptable. '

Penzei nods in agreement.

You say 'They move easily in the crowds, they hide in plain sight. Many victims notice them only when it is too late.'

You say 'Which confirms their function. They are excellent assassins for the Shadow.'

Eldrenia says 'Also making them difficult to capture and study.'

You say 'Now, to more practical aspects. Has any of you visited Maerone, a village south of Cairhien?'

You nod at Eldrenia.

Eivor nods at you.

Penzei says 'I have Callesa Sedai... its practically infested with gray man at various times of the day...'

You nod in agreement.

You say 'We don't know what attracts them. But many people have been attacked.'

Penzei says 'They find their way out of the tunnels that connect the Angrill to Maerone...'

Verne has arrived from the west.

You nod in agreement.

Verne curtseys gracefully.

Verne closes the door.

Eivor says 'I have found them within the tunnels as well, that would make sense'

Penzei says 'Like you say it is unknown how they get there to begin with... one can only imagine...'

You say 'You’ll review the theoretical notes later, Verne, I hope girls will share with you. We are now covering attacks by the Gray men, and their strategies.'

Eivor says 'I have also noticed varying amounts of lethality from one to another'

You say 'I would expect them to either wait for someone particular expected to arrive to Maerone, as it is a rather important dock for merchandise, or they may simply sabotage the life there.'

You nod at her.

Verne smiles happily.

Verne says 'interesting, yes they seem quite puzzling'

You say 'Yes, there are various kinds. How can you defend yourself from the kind of Gray man encountered in Maerone?'

Elghin says 'Some spears are sharper, some are longer. Any weapon is lethal, but the issue is how they're used.'

Verne says 'fascinating i just learned a new technique for this last night as a matter of fact'

Verne says 'so there is one in maerone that is exceptionally sneaky, and even 99% notice with k h.man will not see him'

Verne says 'but'

Verne says 'you have one pulse when he enters the room where he is not hidden'

You nod in agreement.

Verne says 'so if you have two or three people, you can position yourself 2 rooms away and spam for him'

Eivor says 'He still sneaks in though, right? So you don't actually see him enter'

Eldrenia quietly says "boom".

Verne says 'and then have one person or mobs attack him, and he will wander chasing you'

Verne says 'you dont get an emote if you enter, but if you are spamming it will hit'

Verne says 'assuming you dont get one pulse worth of lag when he enters'

Penzei says 'or there is the good ol'fashion way of warding yourself and hoping that he misses your back but that is... more of a gamble...'

You say 'You will often be alone. So, be careful, notice the weird feeling you can sometimes have. Do not stay long in any room.'
* HP:Healthy SP:Strong MV:Fresh >
Eivor nods and jots down a few notes on what Verne just explained

Elghin thinks hard.

You say 'Not staying long in one place helps not get you killed.'

Verne nods in agreement.

Verne says 'absolutely'

Elghin says 'You said it's a merchant shipping port?'

You say 'When you want to kill him, to get rid of the threat and make sure he won't stab you, use any weave. If you are strong enough, you can use status weaves. Otherwise, any tool will serve.'

You nod in agreement.

Elghin thinks hard.

Verne ponders life, the universe, and everything.

You say 'Yes, by the river, it can serve as a crossroads between Andor, Cairhien, Tear, and Tar Valon.'

You say 'However, there were sightings of much stronger Gray men now.'

Verne tells you 'have you tried status weaves on him? i thought his stab timer was faster than that?'

You say 'We are unfortunately used to trollocs, fades, dreadlords.'

You tell Verne 'yes, some will land. it depends.'

Elghin says 'If the question is 'how they get there,' maybe they are *made* there, and because of the river access, they're able to travel to various cities by river and avoid risking detection on the roads.'

Verne tells you 'interesting, cool'

You say 'They don't really risk detection anywhere, I'm afraid.'

You say 'I've got reports from my eyes and ears concerning two much stronger Gray men.'

You say 'One used to be known as Meren, when he was trully alive and probably already serving as a Darkfriend.'

You say 'Another is called Vircanus.'

You say 'Be careful, the Shadow is very innovative.'

Penzei says 'I think that the dark friends must travel to the blight in order to volunteer their souls... I've seen the Forges of Shayol Ghul... they are literally using peoples souls bound to their hellish weapons... '

You say '(a new remort for players)'

You nod at Penzei.

Elghin blinks her eyes innocently.

You say 'Well, it may sound like dark humour, but we can see they don't really waste resources. Body and soul get used.'

You say 'Back to the special skills of these assassins.'

You say 'They are deadly on their own, they have experience. Not just anyone gets to go through the procedure. Perhaps they choose strong ones, or those with assassination experience.'

You say 'As a reward, they get the skills we mentioned. They are not perceived by a crowd. I got a report of Vicarnus just sitting in Cairhien today, no guards were minding him, no merchant screaming for help.'

You say 'When a fade like Razhak is in the city, you get the news. But these new enemies are just free to sit around and pick their victim.'

You say 'You see them as if they were a normal person, so remember their names.'

You say 'They can also travel under a false name.'

Penzei says 'That new power... is the most troubling'

Verne says 'when they enter the room, the will not look like a danger'

You say 'The report I got today mentioned Vicarnus entering an inn as "Mortie" and then the illusion dissipated as he attacked.'

Verne says 'ooc there is no * * around their name, and if you get blicked it will look like you got same sided'

Eivor says 'the false name, can they use existing people names as well?'

You say 'The intended victim got away. But the random citizens, or guards, did not help.'

Verne says 'from reports yes'

Eivor says 'Goodness...'

You say 'They would probably help a Rising Sun, as this happened in Cairhien. But not a foreigner.'

Verne says 'my worry is if they impersonate someone like adael or mhaliah, will the queens guard mobs assist THEM?'

You say 'When a trolloc attacks you, everyone will help. Don't count on it with these.'

You nod at her.

Penzei says 'From what i've witnessed so far...'

You say 'Yes, I have reports of them impersonating Accepted Terry.'

Penzei says 'They are unable to truly look like an important figure in our society'

Penzei says 'So while they may blend in... they cannot impersonate...'

Eivor says 'This is troubling on many levels...'

You say 'I don't know whom will the guards assist. I don't even know, whether some mistaken identities won't lead to unfortunate warrants. Imagine you defending yourself against a seemingly normal man, and accidentally hitting a bystander!'

You say 'The only good news is, that the illusion seems to disappear as they attack.'

Eivor nods slowly

You say 'But they still look human to an uneducated eye.'

Elghin nods in agreement.

You say 'So, remember the basics of safety. '

You say 'Be careful who is around you. Don't stay in one room, when you risk getting stabbed, choose at least a no hide. Know where to run for help.'

You say Learn the names. Meren and Vircanus are the first one I've got reports about or seen, I am sure others will follow.

Verne says 'i would also recommend being prepared for anything, as they are very new the dark one may still be experimenting on them, and they may have new abilities added or others taken away. this is very common when new tools are devoloped'

Elghin mutters something to the effect of 'And failing that; weave early, and weave often.'

….

You say 'where was I'

Callesa frowns at Verne

Verne says 'i believe oderon was one of the first few to test them out'

Verne says 'but is no longer a gray man'

Eldrenia coughs loudly.

Eldrenia says 'Learn the names. Meren and Vircanus are the first one I've got reports about or seen,
I am sure others will follow.'

You say 'Thank you, Sister.'

You say 'An idea for a relatively safe but very important research. Which of you have learnt the
Locate weaves?'

Elghin raises her hand.

Eivor says 'Object, here'

Verne says 'not at the moment'

You say 'Very good.'

Elghin says 'Both weaves, to a fairly high degree.'

You say 'We don't know yet, whether they are locatable like any other enemy. Either with the Locate
Life weave, or the Locate Object.'

Eldrenia says 'I have life and object currently, Sister and I could not locate either one earlier.'

You say 'Given their nature, it is a legitimate question, whether they don't also get some
protection from these weaves.'

You nod at her.

Eldrenia says 'But I do not know if they had no locate objects.'

You say 'Thank you, this is exactly the information we need.'

Penzei says 'It might be hard to locate someone who isn't really tied to the weave...'

Verne ponders life, the universe, and everything.

Penzei says 'since the dark one holds their souls ...'

Eivor says 'Do they show up on the who list, like known darkfriends do?'

You say 'We need to try various times, to make a more precise guess whether they are usually
protected by standard tools, or whether it is their nature.'

Eldrenia says 'I do not know if I can sense them when they are near.'

Verne says 'they do not show up on the who list, though i worry if they can see our narrates'

You say 'No Eivor, they are truly members of the Dark Side.'

You say 'They are no longer human.'

Eivor says 'I see...'

You say 'I don't think they can see our narrates. Let's not forget they went through a similar
remorting process as the fades.'

Eivor nods in agreement.

Verne says 'the only way to know for sure that i can think of.... is to see what weapon they are
using, it. attempt to locate that weapon, then kill them and check for no-loc objects.'

Elghin says 'I... Would agree with Penzei on that. I suspect that the Soulless are immune to
location weaves. If the Shadow saw fit to purge their souls for the few powers we *know* they have,
I'd suspect protection from location weaves is, at the very least, a side-effect of the exchange.'

You say 'Verne, for now, we cannot be sure whether they are not protected from any Locating by their
nature. Even from their belongings being located.'

Eldrenia thinks hard.

Eldrenia says 'We should attempt to warrant them.'

You say 'For now, we simply haven't got enough data to be sure about anything. This new kind of a
Grayman is still very new. But we need to act fast, and to gather the data.'

Elghin nods in agreement.

Verne says 'correct, so if we see them we can be sure what they are using as a weapon, then if we
locate that weapon we can see if they show up. most likely they will not, and then we can kill them
to see if they were carrying a no loc. chances are if they have innate protection they are not going
to be carrying a no-loc, but if we check their belongings and find nothing then we can be sure that
it was innate protection '

You say 'Should any of you encounter them in battle, think first about your survival. But should you
return with information about how the battle went, I'm sure it will be worth spreading.'

Verne says 'they have been very hard to pin down so far'

Verne says 'i suspect the abilty to take on a name has been pretty closely guarded'

You say 'That is a very good point, Sister, we should try. Even though I don't believe we'll be able
to, as they are no less members of the dark side than for example trollocs. But if we could, it
might make the population more sensible to some of the faces.'

Penzei says 'They are a might more slippery then the average dark spawn that is for sure...'

Callesa nods at Penzei.

Verne says 'and up to this point only used when being chased, to take on someones name so that they
would not be attacked while fleeing'

You say 'Not true, Verne. Today's report from my eyes and ears clearly describes it.'

Verne says 'thats what i mean, i think up until this point theyve been using it smart so we didnt
know about that ability'

You say 'The false name was used to move around and to enter the inn, probably to not alarm the
victim.'

Verne says 'and now they let the cat out of the bag'

You say 'When you try to look up the false name in the registers (whois), you will find nothing and
it will cost you a valuable second or two.'

Verne says 'but if we didnt know that, they might take YOUR name while we were spread out hunting
him, and i would not have attacked, letting him get a way'

Callesa frowns at the stream of words coming from the Accepted.

Verne says 'ive just been thinking of how they got away from large groups so easily'

Verne says 'and if they had that ability it might have been what they were using'

Eivor disappears into the void.
Eldrenia disappears into the void.

Eivor has returned.
Eivor looks up frantically from a pile of maps littered wwith notes. She gives you a small smile and
a nod, then continues with her work

Eldrenia has returned.

Penzei giggles.

Eldrenia slaps the void away as she regains the world of the living.

Eivor beams a smile at Eldrenia.

You say 'What we don't know yet: if you look at them directly and really carefully, while they are
using the false identity, will it hold? Will you see the false identity, or them?'

Verne says 'in which case if they are around you may want to spam k dark, even when your allie
enters the room'

You say 'We will probably know soon.'

Verne says 'allies enter*'

You say 'That was enough, Accepted Verne'

Verne nods in agreement.

Penzei nods in agreement.

Elghin clears her throat.

You say 'That part was covered sufficiently a while ago, and there is no need to expand and expand
on all the possibilities.'

You say 'Does anyone have any questions before we finish?'

* HP:Healthy SP:Strong MV:Fresh >

Elghin says 'So, as of right now, Callesa Sedai...'

You say 'Yes, Elghin?'

Eivor turns to look at Elghin, still standing in the back of the room

Elghin says 'What you need from us are battle reports with the Soulless, and if possible, a full
inventory of their possessions so we can try pinpointing the extent of their abilities.'

You say 'I ask of you only what you can obtain without putting your lives unnecessarily in danger.'

You say 'You are not Aes Sedai yet, I do not ask students to put themselves at exteme risk. However,
I have no doubts the Graymen will try to attack some of you and prefer to keep you as prepared as
possible.'

Penzei nods in agreement.

You say 'And some things, such as running Locates and coordinating with others in the battle, are
without a risk.'

Penzei finishes writing her notes and folds up her leather bound binder with the quill inside.

You say 'This concludes the lesson.'

You say 'A word, Verne.'