Paragon

[Metarie]

My darlings! It is time to plot and brainstorm things for Paragon and the cells we have now and the ones tentatively up for creation.

Assassination Squad

Leader/assassin: Shanuri
backup/connections: Aurelio
Assassin/connections: Ivone
Hookups/intel: Andras
Assassin/backup: Haneul (also doubling as one of Paragon's heavy hitters)
High society connections/intel/invitations: Erebos

Planned target: Judge Vyaduka
Assassin: Ivone
Backup: Aurelio
Setup: Erebos/Andras
Plan: Ivone becomes his sweetheart and poisons him.

Discussion: How are they doing this? How far along are they? What sort of threads do we use?

Andras and Erebos would be the ones tracking movement and listening in for information.

Ivone will need to act coy and in control: publicly she needs to be the one in "control" of Aurelio, due to his bad reputation, either stringing him along or with him on her dime.

I PROPOSE: Ivone sets herself up with the help of Aurelio as a sort of businesswoman looking to provide entertainment at parties. Aurelio could act as her advisor (his reputation in terms of business is solid), and Shanuri would be her chief "talent" with Haneul as the protegee. Possibly they might keep a few npcs who don't know what's going on to have a wider selection.

Erebos could function as a patron, or investor, and Andras would remain invisible to the public eye.

I have already established that Judge Vyaduka knows Ivone AND that TIan, Ivone's dead husband, specifically asked Khayyam to "take care of Ivone" should something happen to him. Vyaduka agreed. I was also working on, with Meesh, establishing Ivone as a viable businesswoman as a purveyor of gift baskets the upper class people liked - the speciality candles, etc., that lead to her learning to being able to poison people.


This is why Khayyam was at the funeral and how Ivone came to accuse a Judge of fault. This is also how he becomes the focus, for her, of the plot. She holds him personally accountable as her husband's close friend. Coincidentally, he is also earmarked as the ideal choice for her assassination attempt. Was she easily led? oh yes.

We are working on establishing the ties that bind Aurelio to Ivone (gain, she is more easily pliable, emotionally vulnerable yatta yatta - maybe his actions prove that whatever passes between them isn't as empty as he said?) and once he has broached the idea to Ivone and finds her surprisingly more than willing, then the interaction with Khayyam will begin.

My plan is that Ivone will start with a call on Khayyam to apologize for her outburst and ask his forgiveness. She will bring a little basket of her homemade things that smell more manly (bergamot and oakmoss, perhaps?) and talk about wanting to re-establish her business, how the Malatrasts want her to remarry and have offered her up to Aurelio. Save me, Khayyam, save me undertones to appeal to his sense of responsibility. This will explain why he will see and hear of her being accompanied by Aurelio around town. As time and interactions progress, she can continue to bring him gifts - which he will hopefully use because of vanity and an attempt to make her happy (?) - samples of her proposed wares, but made especially for him with extra special ingredients that are slowly poisoning him. Eventually, perhaps sooner than later because of his age he decides he will marry Ivone so she doesn't have to marry that horrible Merynir - in a simple affair suitable for two widowers. Then, moving on to more effective methods, such as an outright poisoned tea that does the job.

Unfortunately, it will have done the job when they are *cough* consummating their marriage. Sadly, Khayyam's heart could not handle the experience and gave out on him. Poor Ivone, how embarrassing and tragic. Socially, in swoops the caustic, mean, and snarky Aurelio to make her pay for ditching him for Khayyam and is truly, the only real and viable option for a woman who now has outlived two older husbands. Frankly, no one else will touch her for fear they'll die, too. Don't forget that Aurelio is also older by 10 years *wink*

anyway that's kind of the way I envisioned the Khayyam-Ivone thing going.

[Metarie]

Oh, and, Ivone would say yes to Khayyam because Aurelio is a playboy as Kat says:

he's a playboy, he's known to be a playboy, he doesn't chase skirts who don't want him sort of thing - so if he's being a playboy she could easily justify the choice because she'd prefer someone who won't be a playboy after getting married or during the engagement.

[Saruna]

Okidokies, so what I was trying to say with the whole bit about the gala is that I wanted them to already be, shall we say, halfway or more through to the established goal. This way the threads should tie together more smoothly in terms of how the timescales pan out. After all, while Aurelio and Ivone hook up in 124 PW, giving us two years to present, that doesn't mean things proceed smoothly after. Paragon is a very, very secretive thing, and while I had planned for them to be watching Ivone, that doesn't mean they know her.

Someone who is pissed with the government will not necessarily be okay with taking it down. The idea with the cell is that it functions as a cell: a group of people who support and interact with each other. So part of that time will be Aurelio cementing himself in Ivone's life (as you said), without bringing her on board to kill someone and partake in Paragon. They'll want to be sure of her before bringing her in. So, say, six months?

Then they would want to plan things out very carefully before moving forward. If Breda/Steph are okay with their characters taking on a separate target, then the two plans would need to be coordinated. Another few months with those initial overtures. A year and a bit to get in good with Khayyam is a lot of time, I know! So I dunno, if you want the plan to be close to fruition that'd prolly work too, and we can rp up to that point or something.

That said, the thing with her being offered to Aurelio and using that as bait is that 1) the Merynirs would not force him on anyone who doesn't want him (why he is still single) as that is very bad taste. 2) Aurelio himself is not the sort of man to force himself on a woman. So with those sorts of rumors at hand, Ivone going to Khayyam and saying that she is being forced towards Aurelio would be easily disproved.

Which is why I suggested something from a business angle. Either she teams up with Aurelio and he functions as some sort of public advisor or partner in a business sense, or he acts antagonistic and tries to take her out in a business sense for some perceived slight that very well could be staged. In any case Khayyam certainly could still provide aid to Ivone, because a failing or threatened business is scary in its own way. Perhaps Aurelio could appear as a rival for Ivone's attention to Khayyam if he and Ivone are publicly friendly, certainly as a threat if not.

Then, we need to work in the cell. If it doesn't work for Ivone to have an entertainment business, maybe that's something Aurelio could do, or Erebos (though it'd fit less with established characteristics for Erebos, I think). I had wanted them to all be involved with each other somehow, even if that doesn't work -- I made the cells big enough to offer up complicated character relationships and the interrelationships that go along with. I'm trying not to be contrived, but it is my hope!

[Breda Dreaughan]

I'm still a bit out of the water with Shanuri and everything related to her, but she is certainly very interested to remove any Vyadukas off the face of the earth, as personally as possible. That being said, I don't mind separate target, as clearly this thing is planned quite far ahead (and back). Give me a moment to read up on where we are.

[Metarie]

Okido. Let me ponder

[Metarie]

Okidokies, so what I was trying to say with the whole bit about the gala is that I wanted them to already be, shall we say, halfway or more through to the established goal. This way the threads should tie together more smoothly in terms of how the timescales pan out. After all, while Aurelio and Ivone hook up in 124 PW, giving us two years to present, that doesn't mean things proceed smoothly after. Paragon is a very, very secretive thing, and while I had planned for them to be watching Ivone, that doesn't mean they know her.

Yes, that makes sense.

Someone who is pissed with the government will not necessarily be okay with taking it down. The idea with the cell is that it functions as a cell: a group of people who support and interact with each other. So part of that time will be Aurelio cementing himself in Ivone's life (as you said), without bringing her on board to kill someone and partake in Paragon. They'll want to be sure of her before bringing her in. So, say, six months?

Yes, that makes sense.

Then they would want to plan things out very carefully before moving forward. If Breda/Steph are okay with their characters taking on a separate target, then the two plans would need to be coordinated. Another few months with those initial overtures. A year and a bit to get in good with Khayyam is a lot of time, I know! So I dunno, if you want the plan to be close to fruition that'd prolly work too, and we can rp up to that point or something.

The relationship is already there. Ivone just needs to extend an olive branch and begin building the relationship on a new level with Khayyam. Because Khayyam is an NPC, we do not necessarily have to RP out Khayyam's compliance (though it'd be fun). We can just have Ivone reporting back on her progress.

That said, the thing with her being offered to Aurelio and using that as bait is that 1) the Merynirs would not force him on anyone who doesn't want him (why he is still single) as that is very bad taste. 2) Aurelio himself is not the sort of man to force himself on a woman. So with those sorts of rumors at hand, Ivone going to Khayyam and saying that she is being forced towards Aurelio would be easily disproved.

Which is why I suggested something from a business angle. Either she teams up with Aurelio and he functions as some sort of public advisor or partner in a business sense, or he acts antagonistic and tries to take her out in a business sense for some perceived slight that very well could be staged. In any case Khayyam certainly could still provide aid to Ivone, because a failing or threatened business is scary in its own way. Perhaps Aurelio could appear as a rival for Ivone's attention to Khayyam if he and Ivone are publicly friendly, certainly as a threat if not.

Then, we need to work in the cell. If it doesn't work for Ivone to have an entertainment business, maybe that's something Aurelio could do, or Erebos (though it'd fit less with established characteristics for Erebos, I think). I had wanted them to all be involved with each other somehow, even if that doesn't work -- I made the cells big enough to offer up complicated character relationships and the interrelationships that go along with. I'm trying not to be contrived, but it is my hope!

The forcing is (in 124PW) is on the side of the Malatrast's to get their name disassociated from her. I think they cast about for a likely target and settled on Aurelio. In any case, the "hey, what about her as a prospect" thing was really just a means for us to have them meet. I was trying to think about how to explain it socially. If they go around to parties and are seen together, everyone will think they've hit it off well and are moving in a marriage like direction because of rumors. Darn those pesky things. So, it'll be a delicious gossipy surprise when she marries Khayyam and it turns out the hitting it off was really a business partnership. I do imagine Khayyam would not approve of the risk to Ivone considering Aurelio's reputation as a playboy, but would probably keep it to himself because Aurelio is a good businessman.

I think the business partnership is a good way to go. I completely forgot the whole entertainment angle. Perhaps Aurelio could suggest the entertainment thing, because Ivone's first attempt was with Seb and Stephan to sell her creations (candles, lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc.) I can imagine she would still be thinking in that direction. The entertainment thing would not occur to her because the entertainment connection was Tian's. It would also mean, perhaps, having to cross paths with Tian's former lover, Jaime. That will be fun exchange for Ivone - not.

[Saruna]

I think we're on the same page with the relationship thingy, because that's what I meant too -- building it from her side. Agreeing to watch out for another man's wife is totally separate from having a romance with her, and I imagine because he's a judge and because he has a lot to consider and shit, building a romance with him would take time. Or at least as much time as we can make it take so the timing works. heheh.

Last two paragraphs sound awesome! Aurelio definitely could suggest it to her. I was thinking that between him acting the business part of things, Erebos could probably be the one getting the other two ladies into society events separate from Ivone/Aurelio. Y'know, like either the one "hiring" them or getting them invitations so they can mingle sort of thing? Breda, Steph, Sky -- thoughts?

[Erebos]

That sounds great. Erebos can be the key to getting them into the Gala. Although if we could figure out what kind of relationship Shanuri and Haneul have with him that would be something to look into so I know how to approach both characters.

[Sisara]

Hmm yes, I like that idea! Should work well for Erebos to get them both into the gala, plus Shanuri's performance background should definitely help in that area too.

I agree that we need to establish relations a bit. If not through chat, then through rp maybe, since Breda is trumping through fields on a regular basis ;-)

Off the bat though, I'd say that Haneul and Erebos might be in a sort of love-hate relationship - I'm thinking she might despise him for his reluctance to use shadow magic (even though his is different from hers) but that they might share the same love for action and the same carelessness of what it does to others. Or something of the sort really. A sort of camaraderie might be a good idea though because they will have to work together (whether that means being good at faking or actually liking each other to a certain point... well... we shall see?).

As for Haneul and Shanuri, I'd say that Haneul feels drawn to Shanuri for various reasons maybe, but most prominently because Shanuri has the skill to publicly eliminate people without it being really noticeable, whereas Haneul generally uses shadows - it's an opposite Haneul is interested in, maybe in order to gain said skill too?

But yes, really just throwing a few ideas out there for discussion purposes. Though at least that has given me some more ideas of things to flesh out Haneul's bio with!

[Erebos]

Although I do like the idea no one is supposed to know about Erebos' power. If people found out...than he would be disowned and frowned upon by the upper class. But they could definitely be drawn to each other, like calls to like. Of course Hanuel may be able to sense it better than Erebos, it is very important no one finds out what Erebos really is. Erebos' shadow magic corrupts him, and you will see just how dark of a character gets when he lets that side of him out. Aurelio and the two men he killed are the only people who know of his powers. He usually pushes the darker side of him away but by the time of the Gala he will have some experience with embracing that side of him and learning to live with it. It is almost like he has a split personality, light and dark. If you go to the Cats in a Bag thread you will get a better understanding.


Erebos will most likely touch base with both of them, he likes to know where people stand. He may pull them aside, away from prying eyes. Erebos does have a reputation to keep up with, and if he is seen with the wrong people it may offend some of his "friends".


I think it would be a good idea for Erebos, Hanuel, and Shanuri to be acquaintances, possibly meeting briefly before the Gala. Anything other than that would take time to play out and wouldn't flow as smoothly as I would like.

[Saruna]

Let's be a little clearer:

Aurelio planned to bring Erebos into the cell. Though it isn't necessary, the idea was that Erebos would fully be in the know of the cell's actions so that he can more easily sort out the good intel from the bad intel. If Aurelio/Ivone create an entertainment business (with a few other npcs to make it appear legit, though the npcs wouldn't know the real reason), then Erebos could be an investor/the public face. The idea would be that he is the one who escorts Haneul or even Shanuri to high class events -- not just the gala -- both as entertainment and as two interesting women who help stay the boredom of the rich. The gala is not the main focus here. It is one event out of any number of things throughout the year, just one more place where they will be making an appearance. Let me know if that's outside what you guys want to do, and we'll plan something else.

Haneul is one of the strongest magic users in Marn -- Paragon wanted her involvement because she is able to take a battlemage on in an even fight. She is able to sense magic. Aurelio wanted to bring Erebos into the cell primarily because he thinks Haneul will be able to help Erebos control his power. And, when you think about it, she should be able to help -- she has to control hers so that the seers in the justice hall don't sniff her out (aside from the distraction and dampening stuff meesh's character is doing).

None of the people in the cell would probably care that Erebos is a magic user, because the whole point of Paragon is to abolish the current government system so that magic users and non-humans can get their equality. Being in Paragon is just as bad as being a magic user -- you'd face death, torture, or being forced to become a battlemage should you have power. So, from an equal standing point, it would probably be better for Erebos to be in Paragon -- then he has something on them (being in Paragon) just as they'd have something on him (because it's unlikely he'd be able to hide his magic from Haneul).


The Cats in a Bag thread happened around Jan-March 123 -- a full year and some months before now. Aurelio was going to start by feeling Erebos out first in a business sense, and then gradually work him into Paragon until Erebos agreed to join. All in all, these characters should have been interacting with each other for at least a year by that timeline, and fairly regularly.


So if anyone is confused or disagrees or wants to play something out differently, speak up!

[Erebos]

That sounds good! Thanks for grabbing the wheel.

That would make more sense for Erebos to know he is in Paragon, I feel more comfortable that way. Of course if word got out he was a part of Paragon it would ruin his influence and reputation, among other things.

As far as the cell knowing about his power, that is entirely possible especially if they have known each other for a while. Hanuel could help Erebos with his power, that would be interesting to play out eventually. I don't want to hide his magic from Hanuel, that would not be fun. It is far better for her to know, it makes things more interesting.

Let me know if you have any more ideas Kat!

[Saruna]

Mmk, so with Erebos mia I might plant a npc in the role of representative of the business in his stead. How do you guys feel about taking the plan with cats in a bag and maybe doing a thread where they're either setting up the business or maybe making sure Andras' in to the building the dance troupe thing is in is secure? I doubt there'd be a tunnel leading right up into it, but maybe there's a convenient empty-out spot nearby?

[Katona]

Paragon's Awakened

Just some notes for the explosives stuff here, for reference. These are the places we're considering for firey death. Might change, and some might fail. Comment if you've got something you wanna say about it. I'll put other notes here too when we work them out.

• Memorial
• Civic Court
• Water Tower
• Power Station
• Temple
• Guard HQ or Justice Hall, if possible

[Metarie]

Reviving the blowing up stuff in Marn conversation.

Kat, you wanted to wait it out for a little longer to allow some other threads to get some heat.

I do think that the Gala thread is getting very near to the point where that wall needs to blow. Just a heads up so this discussion can continue