A Letter to Skall

Post Reply
Sarin
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:21 am

Posted by Sarin »


To Factol Skall
Submitted through the office of Secretary Trevant
From Factotum Sarin’Nzith
On the Topic of the Nine Hells Embassy




Factol Skall, I would have spoken about this with Trevant, or any of the other members of the first circle, but I doubt I would have gained any ground. Most of them are two focused on the true death to look beyond the faction, or, like Trevant, are not willing to stick their necks out for something with no short-term gain. I come here with an argument for allowing the Nine Hells an embassy in the city.

Allowing this embassy allows for threefold gain. I assume you have already considered most of these, but I will still lay out the major points I see, so you understand why I argue for it. The threefold gain is as thus

1: Allow us to enforce rules upon, and monitor the actions of, the Nine Hells within the city.

2: Provide an opposing force for the Temple of the Abyss.

3: Strengthen the city of Sigil as a political body.

I shall now lay out my argument for point 1: One can point to the many evils of Baator, but none are more sinister than its slavery to paperwork. Contracts, clauses, signiters and lawyers make up the backbone of how the hells operate. It's how they collect souls, fight the blood war, and keep their whole plane running. There are more stacks of paperwork in the offices of Baator than matter in all of Toril. A devil will bend and push against the outlines, rules and terms of a signed contract, but they will never willingly break it. Using this cosmic constant, we can gain much in terms of power and knowledge.

Currently, Baator works among us. Shapeshifters, proxies, random people we pass on the street. Even without an embassy, they push a massive amount of work through the city. All the planes do, the main difference being Baator poses a threat to the city, whereas most other planes do not. Setting up this embassy would allow us to sign into print their need to keep and share all records of agents of the Nine Hells within the city. This would provide us with the most powerful tool for dealing with any potential threat. Knowledge. With enough knowledge, you can have foresight, and head all potential conflict off before it happens. We could also limit what they could do, something we have no power over right now, and push them towards our goals.

I shall now lay out my argument for point 2: As of right now, the Temple of the Abyss is one of the strongest players within the city. It holds more power than many of the factions, Dustmen included, and its goals are in exact opposition of our own. So far, the city has done little to stop it, and at the moment its spikes are covered in the corpses of people killed without trial, within spitting distance of the prison. While it is true that the goal of the Nine Hells also opposes ours, they will provide something very important to the city. A counterbalance to the Abyss. I have fought in the blood war since before most of the current primes existed, and there is one constant in it. It's always 50/50. They alway fight to a standstill. And with the right paperwork, and a close eye on the temple, that 50/50 will not be a foot war, but a war of politics. The overall impact will be more lower plane power in the city as they fight each other. But that power will be focused away from what we care about. Souls. Both sides will put corruptions and faustian pacts to the side for gathering power to use against each other. The end results will be two moderately powerful lower planar operations in the city, that are much easier to deal with individually, and spend a large amount of their power focused against the other, and not towards the city itself, or the souls of the people living within.

I shall now lay out my argument for point 3: Sigil is a city. A very important city. A city with politics. We do politics with most of the verse, in some way or another, just due to what we are. Not having any direct political ties to a major planar power cripples our ability to make dealings with that power. We cannot trade, sanction, deal, parly, anything. The city is currently working on making the skydock, so we can open up a massive amount of trade with the entire ‘verse. Sigil has no easy way to set up a trade route from Dis to itself. We would have to rely totally on people within the city knowing devils personally, and not being able to simply go to our diplomatic hub, and dealing with the Nine Hells Trade Bureau directly. This is a needless limitation in our power, and something he need in order to fully function as the hub of the multiverse.


In finishing,

I could have explained all of this to Trevant, and he might have agreed. He might have even put forward that we vote in favor of the Nine Hells embassy. But he would not truly agree for the reasons I am putting forward. I am looking towards both the direct future, but also when Trevant, and most of the members of the first circle have either failed or succeeded in meeting true death. The dustmen is comprised mostly of short-lived mortals, outside of our few undead members. The main body of the faction is not well suited for long term planning. 20, 50, 100 years. You are immortal, and very old. I am immortal, and very old. Everything I put forward will grow more powerful with age, and if the right measures are taken, will strengthen not only Sigil, but weaken the two fiendish forces that desire to steal souls from the true death.
User avatar
mimifearthegn
Site Admin
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:18 am
Contact:

Posted by mimifearthegn »


It takes a while. Azuriel might even have suspected that her letter got lost somewhere in the negative energy plane. But at least, she receives a reply:
Initiate Azuriel,

You make a powerful political case for why we should care about the Nine Hells and their influence upon the city. I might even say - an impassioned case, worthy of a living member of the Cage. But what do any of the points you mentioned have to do with the Dead?

The Nine Hells are a bureaucracy, and will keep their agreements to a point. They also possess much knowledge. But are they offering knowledge of interest to the Dustmen? Do they possess secrets of death that we do not?

The Temple of the Abyss is wild and chaotic, and no doubt troubles the living of the city greatly. They kill men before their time. But so do the Hells. So do many of the living. A violent death is often the price of an impassioned life. It would be better if it were not so, but the Hells profit off of the living as much as the Abyss. The solution lies in our teaching, not with the fiends.

I understand that you were a devil, and the hatred of the Abyss must still burn in your heart. I challenge you, Azuriel, to quench that fire of hatred, if it still guides you. It will keep you from your true death.

Sigil is a very important city, and the trade opportunities offered by the docks are ever-increasing. But how does that help the Dead? Will riches help us spread out message? Will comfort help people to still their passions?

I write to you on behalf of Factol Skall, who was almost amused at the number of times my name came up in your letter.

In Death,

Secretary Trevant
Sarin
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:21 am

Posted by Sarin »


The reply letter is long delayed, and written with much hesitation.

"You are right. The my hatred of the Demons still burns within me, and it is a passion I will not easily be rid of. Perhaps now is the time to start working on it. While the Nine Hells Embassy would aid the city as large, it would hardly effect The Dead. They can offer us nothing we do not already own, or have the path towards. The only trade we require is the ability to get the supplies needed to embalm and entomb the dead, which the Skydock has already done. This would purely be a political move, and would not aid us in moving the Multiverse further towards the Ture Death.

"Your letter gave me much to think about, and I thank you for the response. I am going to attempt to push for the acceptance of the Nine Hells Embassy with the other factions, but I do not thing it is the business of the Dustmen."
Slayer of Love
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:54 pm

Posted by Slayer of Love »


Learning of the public sentiment of reluctance among the Dead does not appear to cast a slightest shadow of doubt in that unyielding flame of will that burns passionately in Maraphiel's aspiring eyes. On the contrary, hearing of how high and hopeless the obstacles grow before the baatorian envoy, it is as though the challenge threw into that flame only turns out to fuel the blazing fervour in her. It is then Maraphiel announces she will offer the Dustmen something even the Dead desire, and though the thought may at this point seem incredulous, the baatorian envoy says so with such a matter-of-factly, unyielding confidence, that one may suspect she has been preparing an answer to this challenge for some time already.

What Maraphiel does not elaborate on then is that though she is convinced her plan will succeed, is that this is only on the proviso a number of conditions are met. One of the reasons for this omission is this prediction is based on Azuriel's words, and the baatorian envoy is reluctanct to commit too much trust in those - partly due to Azuriel being a proxy in explaining to the deviless the stance of the Dustmen leadership, which leaves space for misunderstandings; partly due to having some misgivings of Azuriel's agenda. Either way, the next step is to discuss the matters with the Dustmen leadership.

On 2nd Guild of Retributus, 137Ha, a delegation consisting of the baatorian envoy Maraphiel and two attaches - an amnizu and an ashmede - enter the Mortuary. They pay respects on behalf of the nobiltiy of Hell to those who would receive them, and they request a meeting with the Faction's representatives.
Post Reply