POWER PERMISSIONS

[wolof]

Now that Akua will be coming into her Named powers as Calamity, I begin the first of many permissions posts.

APPRAISE

This power is going to be very similar to powers called See and Narrate from her own canon, (to the Warden, and Akua's new counterpart the Wandering Bard respectively) but I wanted it to be distinctive. Where "See" allows one to visualize Names and Stories along a path as a sum of a whole, and Narrate allows one to... "tell" the story as it is happening -- Appraise will allow Akua to take in the sum of the "story" of the person before her, or Appraise their role in the story. This will allow her to essentially divine certain data from a character. This will NOT be a "know everything about a character's history" button, but instead, she will be able to divine the following facts:

• A Characters's "Role" in their canon. Are they an Antagonist? The Martyr? What trope do they fall into? I included some additional info below, click to expand!
  
  
  

  ↬What is a Role?↫

  
  

  Terminology clarification: what the fuck is a "Role"?
  "A Role is the function of a Name in the pattern (as in, a Tyrant is meant to rule and a Thief to steal)." - WoE
  
  That ^ is not the only thing the word "Role" is used to mean in Guideverse. We also have Akua's "it's the Role that matters, not the Name" in Chiaroscuro; what does that mean?
  
  It means that a Role is the function of [you] in a pattern. In that story that everyone hypothetically knows (see above), what would they cast you as? It's not necessarily the same thing as what your Name implies: pattern of three is Name-independent, and Indrani breaking the spell on Masego in Twilight by sacrificing herself in an attempt to rescue him did not depend on what either of their Names were, either. Those moments don't often get referred to as uppercase Role, but it's one of the meanings of the word.
  
  A Role and a Name are often referred to as interchangeable because a Name is inseparably tied to a Role. A generic Name that is not instantiated - a Squire, not this specific Squire - has a broader Role: "a Squire is apprenticed to, or wants to become, or is following in the footsteps of, a Knight". A specific instance of a Name - the Squire who is Catherine Foundling - has a narrower one: "is apprenticed to the current Black Knight of Praes who is Amadeus of the Green Stretch" (that fits within / is a subset of the more generic one).
  
  A Role is like a causal interface through which the instantiated Name (the growth on a person's soul that gives them powers) is impacted by events in Creation. The price of grain in Ashur doesn't impact Masego's Name because his Role does not include statements related to the price of grain; but it might impact Malicia's, because her Role includes statements about inspiring dread in other countries, of which the price of grain is one of the available venues. Losing an army would not impact Tariq's Name because his Role is not that of a leader of armies, but it did impact Amadeus's, because his instance of Black Knight was very much about that.
  
  But not every Role is tied to a Name. To generate a Name, a Role needs to be (1) significantly impactful (technically, "dead background peasant #23" is also a Role - it's something you might get to play in a threatre production of the story), (2) archetypically clear (if people don't associate your Role with a specific verbal label, you don't get a power-conferring verbal label on your Role).
  
  Yes, this contradicts the literal interpretation of the statement in Prologue I about how Gods gave Names to Roles. So does this WoG: "There would be no cultural drive anywhere on Calernia to birth a Name like Grey Knight, which effectively ensure it could not come into being." The Prologue exposition is a quote from The Book of All Things, and The Book of All Things is acknowledged as not a reliable source in-universe.
  
  Anyway, to figure out if something is a Role or not, or what the Roles are in a given context: a Role is a possible set of lines/stage directions you might get as an actor in a theatre production of the story it's a Role in.

  
  


• High Points of their "Story" (For example: as many as the player wishes to provide of The Important Beats to their story. Not the canon at large, just the individual character's story. This can have as much or as little context as is provided by the player.)


• Whether the character is a Hero, a Villain, or Neither.


• Lastly, she is allowed one glimpse of a character's current "predicament", whatever it may be. This could be a decision, a potential loss, or an action that they must take. This is obviously intending for her to be able to "guide" if the character is amenable, and is much more for the fun of it!


This power will never be used without checking in first! As one of these can be a nebulous statement, I may check in during a thread, to ask about the last one, if we choose to use it! It's essentially for flavor and Guidance!

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Please fill out the following box!

<b>Can Akua Appraise your character</b>: Y/N <b>What is your character's role in their canon?:</b> This is purely subjective, and there's no wrong answer! This can be vibes, or it can be fanon. Just hit me with your best shot! What purpose do they SERVE in their story itself? Not hero or villain, but are they a goal to take down? Are they a tool to be used by the story? Are they the martyr? <b>What are the High Points of their "Story"?</b>: tl;dr as much or as little as you would like! What are the highest points of your character's story? Not the world at large, or the canon, but what happens to <em>them</em>. What is significant? What guides their choices? What major mistakes live with them, and what triumphs do they look back on? What are the parts of your character that make <Em>them</em> who they are? This will be information Akua can divine, so when providing information, only provide what you're comfortable with, but she <em>is</em> a shady villainess so. She won't judge! <b>Is the Character a Hero, a Villain, or Neither?:</b> Again, just based on vibes!

Comments

[redsoil]

Can Akua Appraise your character: Y
What is your character's role in their canon?: Protagonist!

Set is, at once, an anti-hero, an antagonistic force and a straight-up villain without there being any conflict between any of these roles. In Ennead specifically, he is a former anti-hero become villain after a pivotal betrayal by his brother, Osiris. His role is ultimately that of redemption, wherein he is attempting to atone for what he did during the period of time he chose to become a monster, rather than a victim. In mythology, Set's role is that of a reconciled combatant and anti-hero, one who literally exists to bring validity to the very order of the world by opposing it as chaos, as well as to defeat the apocalyptic figure Apophis/Apep.

Honestly, he is the "backbone" of Egyptian mythology. Without him, nothing really happens or has any meaning. He's the redheaded stepchild they need, but do not want!

What are the High Points of their "Story"?: Technically, Egyptian mythology was used as a tool of political power and centralization of power. In Mojito's Ennead, there are a few hints that there was a historical revision or "censure" of events that happened prior to the series's beginning, including the prophetic replacement of Ra, ruler of all gods, with the four children of Geb and Nut. Except, all the hieroglyphs in the background speak of five children. In the study of Egyptian myth, as power began to be centralized, the cult of Osiris rose to preeminence and defined the succession of power between rulers. That being said, there are likely a few myths that are reflected in Mojito's Ennead, via highly unreliable narrators, including Set himself, who does not recall his life prior to ascension to full godhood.

— The rise of the Osiris cult. Set, supposedly, became envious of his brother — Osiris — who was loved, respected and brought order and stability to all of Egypt. Sekhmet whispered words of jealousy into Set's ear, leading him to drug his brother and carve him into nine pieces, then cast those pieces into the Nile river. An alternative is that Set tricked Osiris into climbing into a coffin by offering it as a gift to "whomever it fit best", then slamming the lid on Osiris and tossing him in the Nile. In Mojito's Ennead, Osiris may have revised history to represent himself as more important and powerful than he was, accumulating power and prestige and the Right of Kings ( via his marriage to Isis, the actual Divine Ruler of Gods ) in order to possess and control Set.

— The Contendings of Horus and Set. Or, the conflict between Set and Horus, his nephew, for the ownership of the throne of Egypt. The contest between them is often violent but is also described as a legal judgment before the Ennead to decide who should inherit the kingship. "Contendings" describes the two gods appealing to various other deities to arbitrate the dispute and competing in different types of contests, such as racing in boats or fighting each other in the form of hippopotami, to determine a victor. Some accounts also write of Horus and Set waging war for over eight years, with various gods throwing their lot in with one of the two. Regardless, some of the key elements of "Contendings" are sexual dominance, mutilation and reconciliation of the two feuding gods. In Mojito's Ennead, Set has lost the throne of Egypt and is in the midst of the "reconciliation" period with Horus.

— The Routing of Apep/Apophis. The last of the three key myths Set is involved in, he eventually comes to serve Ra aboard the eternal barque, as one of the most pivotal defenders of the god who brings the dawn and upholder of order. He is the god of chaos, certainly, but not the kind of 'external' chaos that Apep represents. Egypt and all of reality is meant to eventually return to the primordial sea and be reborn again one day, in a very cyclical pattern of eternal time — destruction and creation as cycles ( much like Queztalcoatl! ). Apep is the usurpation of that natural order, and is more of an entropic figure than a part of the fabric of reality.

Is the Character a Hero, a Villain, or Neither?: A little bit of both, but I'd definitely write him as more of a "villain" than a hero. He's got a nastiness to him, even while doing good.