Fadewalker
Posts: 136
7/27/2017
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I love this story. The fate of the six daughters of Pharaoh and the reflections of a long-gone city. It reminds me of Calendar Code and Gift, for the use of deduction and speculation. A very delicious puzzle game with charming writing and tension-building mechanics. One of the most enjoyable stories for me.
(Is the menace of A Stiff Drink an entirely new thing? I haven't met or noticed it before. I kept drinking and drinking all the way during the party and throughout the squabbles, but nothing terrible happened except "A Stiff Drink has not changed from 6 because it's higher than 5". Just wonder if there is something hidden.)
Some speculations and questions:
[spoiler]
For the Pharaoh's daughters:
1 Meritaten
2 Meketaten
3 Ankhesenamun
4 Neferneferuaten Tasherit
5 Neferneferur
6 Setepenre
For the gates and stones:
1 Sacrifice - "woman at the head of six, walking alone into a dark temple", probably the FIRST daughter Meritaten.
2 Priestess - the one went to the back of mirrors, and explicitly the SECOND daughter Meketaten.
3 Vengeance - the third of sixth, Ankhesenamun? And "ridiculous trials", a hint of the Sisterhood?
4 Hostage - definitely our Duchess. If the signature in Calendar Code is true, she should be the SIXTH daughter Setepenre, but if we follow the sequence, she should be the FOURTH daughter Neferneferuaten Tasherit. Puzzling.
5 Pilgrim- "the fifth of six", Neferneferur.
6 Lost - the last chose to stay behind, which could not be found even behind the mirrors. Setepenre?? And the sixth is the only white linen covered stool. But I still prefer the theory where the Hostage (the Duchess) is Setepenre, because the signature evidence in CC is stronger and in Bag a Legend there was "Kept the youngest sister hostage while the rest of us ran for it". Any tricks or misinterpretation?
Descriptions of the sixth stones:
This is the sequence which I guess might be an inverted "sequence" and some of them have been proved in the texts:
[/spoiler]
edited by Fadewalker on 7/28/2017
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A fervent supporter of the Council and the Masters.
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Anchovies
Posts: 421
7/27/2017
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[spoiler]The Obstinate Adoratrice is the last Adoratrice of Amun in the Second City. The real-world ushabti leads to a statue of "the last priestess of Amun in the city of the faithless". This is unambiguous confirmation that the Second City is/was Akhetaten, founded by Akenhaten as the seat of his monotheistic solar cult of Aten. Akenhaten prohibited anthropomorphic depictions of the Aten, commanding that the image of the sun disk be used instead. The Antiquarian's manor contains no images of anthropomorphic deities, and many images of the sun.
"When still on the Surface, she quarreled with her father and was banished." She insisted on continuing to revere Amun. Past pharaohs had claimed that they were descended from Amun; Akenhaten claimed to be not only the child of the Aten, but also a full incarnation of the Aten upon the earth.
"This Palace was to be a refuge, a place where the citizens of the Second City could walk beneath a new sun... She maintains this place even though she did not approve of its construction." The Palace was designed for and by the cult of Aten to be a place of sunlight.
What if the Palace is a prototype of the Dawn Machine?
What if the Aten, a sun-god created whole-cloth by its worshippers, is also the Dawn Machine, a sun-god created whole-cloth by its worshippers?
The Fulgent Impeller is built around an Element of Dawn and awakened with the sacrifice of a sage into its burning heart. What if the Dawn Machine was born in the same way? What if the original architect of the Dawn Machine, and perhaps the sage burning at its heart, is none other than the Pharaoh Akenhaten, his claims of solar divinity finally realized?[/spoiler]
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Perhaps our role on this planet is not to worship God — but to create Him.
—Sir Arthur C Clarke
Lionel Anchovies. Character on indefinite hiatus.
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loredeluxe
Posts: 106
7/27/2017
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I misinterpreted things a little differently with the second and sixth daughters. I changed my first post.
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Akernis
Posts: 255
7/27/2017
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I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The writing was excellent and the mysteries great. I do love to get more knowledge about the previous cities. My favourite part was easily the search for clue during the hide-and-seek, it was very atmospheric and I loved how tens it felt even though it was merely a game.
I too was reminded of the Calendar Code by the set up of this and I really loved that one too. This easily makes my a spot amongst my favourite stories.
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Vena's profile - http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/Akernis
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trajing
Posts: 24
7/27/2017
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loredeluxe wrote:
My favorite part of the story was passing the six gates and finding out what happened to the six daughters of the Pharoah of the Second City. Some of what I say below will be theory, but most will be factually correct based on what we as veteran players know already.
[snip, theories, etc]
Discuss!
edited by loredeluxe on 7/27/2017
[spoiler]Why would you say that we meet the fifth daughter, when (according to the Antiquarian, at any rate) she is "the second of six daughters"? Are the gates, perhaps, in reverse order?[/spoiler]
edited by trajing on 7/27/2017
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Adam Sanzelwicky - http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Adam%20Sanzelwicky
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Akernis
Posts: 255
7/27/2017
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trajing wrote:
*spoilers*
[spoiler] Yes, the gates are almost certainly in reverse order, since the first gate we go through is the one depicting the sun and we are explicitly told that the last daughter was the one who stayed to die in the sunlight. The rest also makes sense with who is who if the order is reversed. [/spoiler]
.
edited by Akernis on 7/27/2017
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Vena's profile - http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/Akernis
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loredeluxe
Posts: 106
7/27/2017
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I might have to go back and look but I thought of the gates as showing them from youngest to oldest and the daughter we meet is called the second daughter of the Pharoah because she is the second born, the fifth daughter as in the second oldest not youngest.
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Scienceandponies
Posts: 247
7/27/2017
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I seem to be at the final decision and am a little unclear about my options. I see one choice to leave immediately and two other choices that require a specific quality from all the characters, I assume relating to their choice to leave or stay. My only option of interaction with them is to convince them to leave (with a persuasive stat check), but I don't want them to (I don't really see how it's really my business actually).
What I'm wondering is whether their decision to leave or stay is just a success or fail on the persuasive stat check, or if I actually get a choice to argue for them staying. The former would seem to suggest that one of the choices requires me to FAIL every single check and is impossible to get as I'm 100% chance all across the board.
Or am I missing why convincing everyone to leave would be a clearly superior option instead of just kind of a dick move?
edited by Scienceandponies on 7/27/2017
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a Nice Friend
Posts: 127
7/27/2017
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I er... think I may have accidentally skipped a chunk of this story. Or just played it wrong (as much as you can play a story wrong)
When the choices came up to sabotage the project or talk the guests out of staying, I didn't even understand why I would want to.
I messed up somewhere.
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Definitely a nice friend - http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/a%20nice%20friend
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Optimatum
Posts: 3666
7/27/2017
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So apparently one of the daughters died in the House of the Feather, whatever that is. I found one reference to it though - in Sunless Skies, the House of the Feather will be one of the ports usable as a home base like London is in SSea.
Did anyone get echoes of the ending for convincing the friends to leave but not the Antiquarian?
a Nice Friend wrote:
I er... think I may have accidentally skipped a chunk of this story. Or just played it wrong (as much as you can play a story wrong)
When the choices came up to sabotage the project or talk the guests out of staying, I didn't even understand why I would want to.
I messed up somewhere.
There isn't any real reason for sabotage that I can think of, unless your character was particularly angry at the trickery. You might want to talk the guests out of staying because the Antiquarian wanted them to only stay if they really wanted to, I guess? And you might want to convince the Antiquarian for the same reason.
edited by Optimatum on 7/27/2017
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Optimatum, a ruthless and merciful gentleman. No plant battles, Affluent Photographer requests, or healing offers; all other social actions welcome.
 Want a sip of Cider? Just say hi!
PM me for information enigmatic or Fated. Though the forum please, not FL itself.
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Vavakx Nonexus
Posts: 892
7/27/2017
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Very much enjoyed this month's ES.
All the new lore is delightful: The new rituals, the seance, the palace itself, the clues towards the fates of all the sisters. Seeing all the tricks the Assistant was able to pull was quite an education experience, as a fellow glassman.
The party at the start of the ES had a lot of good and funny writing - you can't overstate the fact that you can go through the whole ES drunk to high heavens - and exploring the Manor/Palace was also intensely satisfying.
Also: Shout out to the Antiquarian for probably being the only other person who has so many Ushabtiu in his house.
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Amets Estibariz, the Moulting Eidolon: Cradled by a sun all their own.
Blabbing, the Hobo Everyone Knows: The One Who Pulls The Strings. A Clarity In The Darkness.
Charlotte and the Caretaker: A family?
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dov
Posts: 2580
7/27/2017
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Scienceandponies wrote:
Or am I missing why convincing everyone to leave would be a clearly superior option instead of just kind of a dick move?
I'm at the same place. I see no reason why my character should interfere with these people's decision.
It would have been an interesting choice had there been more character development for them, through which we might have learned of things still important for them in London.
--
 Want a sip of Hesperidean Cider? Send me a request in-game. Here's an_ocelot's guide how.
(Most social actions are welcome. Please no requests to Loiter Suspiciously and no investigations of the Affluent Photographer)
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
7/27/2017
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Gotta admit, I did not predict where this story was going.
[spoiler]With the dying Egyptologist apparently off being bandaged, the devoted friends being plied with food and wine, the talk of funerary rites, and the creepy servant trying to get everyone alone and off-guard, I figured I was in for a night of avoiding someone's attempts to have me mummified alive and bind me forever in service in the afterlife. The mirrors and princesses gradually made clear that there was more to it than that, and it turned out to be an excursion into deep lore of suns and pacts and dreams rather than a pure exercise in trad horror, but there were still some creepy sarcophagus scenes.[/spoiler]
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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a Nice Friend
Posts: 127
7/27/2017
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dov wrote:
Scienceandponies wrote:
Or am I missing why convincing everyone to leave would be a clearly superior option instead of just kind of a dick move?
I'm at the same place. I see no reason why my character should interfere with these people's decision.
It would have been an interesting choice had there been more character development for them, through which we might have learned of things still important for them in London.
That's what led me to believe that I must have messed up or missed something.
These people are strangers to me and they seem extremely pleased with this place, so the option to sabotage the construction or talk them out of staying only makes sense to me if there was something especially sinister going on. And if there was, I couldn't see it.
I did enjoy the survival horror puzzle mansion and the option to get completely sauced while the guests bicker.
edited by a Nice Friend on 7/27/2017
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Definitely a nice friend - http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/a%20nice%20friend
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Constance Harrow
Posts: 15
7/27/2017
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What is the token for completing this? I assumed it would be the [spoiler]ushabti[/spoiler] but I don't see that, or anything else second city in my curiosities.
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Sir Joseph Marlen
Posts: 575
7/27/2017
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Optimatum wrote:
There isn't any real reason for sabotage that I can think of, unless your character was particularly angry at the trickery. You might want to talk the guests out of staying because the Antiquarian wanted them to only stay if they really wanted to, I guess? And you might want to convince the Antiquarian for the same reason.
Scienceandponies wrote:
Or am I missing why convincing everyone to leave would be a clearly superior option instead of just kind of a dick move?
Along with just being pissed at this motley crew tricking you, some people don't like anything to do with Parabola due to how dangerous it's been for many cities and groups. With that and the base fear of "new crazy magic shenanigans! scary!", talk of a new sun may frighten players wary of replacement suns (I mean, the Dawn Machine wasn't exactly a good start for that concept). Other than those reasons that are stretching logic to rationalize it, yeah, it pretty much feels like a dick move for the sake of being a dick. Part of me wishes that they'd have given better reasoning for messing with the daughter's plans, even if they weren't great or concrete reasons, but I also like the idea of the options being "being evil for evil's sake VS being a decent person with no self-sacrifice required" in a game where those kind of options aren't always a constant.
You could make a better argument for convincing the members of the party to leave, but to me it just seemed like needlessly convincing people what they wanted wasn't in their best interest when they were already happy with the outcome. I think it was partly a tie-in to the fictional king's / the daughters' willingness to give up their lives to follow their dreams and desires, though I don't have much reason to think their aspirations are any less valuable as their usual lives. Still, though, it was a nice tie-in.
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Sir Joseph Marlen - The Romantic Sophist
Alexus Harven - The Defiant Fatalist
Rose Reinhelm - The Respectful Revolutionary
Cappuccino - The Perfidious Spycraft
Available for any and all social actions.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
7/27/2017
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[spoiler]Personally, I thought it was silly for a group of capable scholars to give up their lives to build a dream of a reflection of a sun-temple to aid a three thousand-year-old priestess who doesn't even believe in it, in memory of her sisters, at least one of whom is alive and active in the real world anyway.
Nice to have my suspicion that the Duchess is the Masters' hostage confirmed, too.[/spoiler]
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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suinicide
Posts: 2409
7/27/2017
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Constance Harrow wrote:
What is the token for completing this? I assumed it would be the [spoiler]ushabti[/spoiler] but I don't see that, or anything else second city in my curiosities.
The ushbati is in qualities, under the story tab, probably by mistake.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/profile/sunnytime
A gentleman seeking the liberation of knowledge, with a penchant for violence.
RIP suinicide, stuck in a well. Still has it under control.
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Lemondrop
Posts: 9
7/28/2017
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Uh, this is actually my first time doing 3 months of extraordinary stories. When does the capstone "season" event happen? Is it an opportunity card?
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Lemondrop
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Constance Harrow
Posts: 15
7/28/2017
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suinicide wrote:
Constance Harrow wrote:
What is the token for completing this? I assumed it would be the [spoiler]ushabti[/spoiler] but I don't see that, or anything else second city in my curiosities.
The ushbati is in qualities, under the story tab, probably by mistake.
Blessings.
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