The Sound of Drums at Intercon J

SPOILER WARNING: If you are likely to play in this four hour larp, you probably should skip the write up for now.

[This started out as my write up. I think we may now consider it a collaboration. Contributors include Stephen Tihor, David Kowarsky, Amber Robitaille, Annie Schapira, and William Knowloch.

The surprise high of Intercon J was _The Sound of Drums_. I had originally signed up for this because, hey, drums! I like playing the doumbek.

The questionnaire was fine, and I got cast as the shaman, Rushlight. This sounded reasonable. The GMs were convinced this would be fine anew, after the storytelling competition in Foambrain's run of _1897: Diamond Jubilee_. Their response to that psyched me, as well, especially as I hadn't decided what story I'd tell until after I heard the story of the guy playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (I told the harpoon and walrus story from Gene Wolf's _The Castle of the Otter_, which I've done in circle before.)

Then, Stephen Tihor and I got the rules and background, a 19 page pdf. The length actually wasn't an issue for us, especially as the type was nicely large. The density was a bit daunting, but we got the material well in advance. No, we worried for different reasons.

The authors were clearly in love with their world and their primitive polyamorous people. It seemed that they were clearly on the side of the Leyanti, and we were worried that this was just their wet dream of a perfect polyamorous world, complete with puddy tats -- er, hunting cats. We weren't sure about the concept of the GMs wandering around as hunting cats, something that could work well, or could be an issue.

We did like the mechanics. In fact, we liked them so much that we lifted one for Lost McGuffin: the idea of using Rock-Paper-Scissors not to determine the outcome of a combat, but to see which side got to add one to its total score.

The character sheets went out late. This is a common problem with first run larps being written right up until the last minute. Stephen did not get his sheet until the wee hours of Wednesday Night / Thursday Morning, iirc, and, given PreCon, that was the last civilized minute.

But, it was the last _civilized_ minute. This was not the game we'd played a couple of years back where, due to the GMs having, as I understand it, last minute emergencies, they did not have character sheets for half the players at the door, leading to a delay as they gave hurried info dumps to a lot of people. Heck, Lost McGuffin handed out character sheets at the door, but in our case, these were very short sheets, and we also weren't a hundred percent sure who would show.

The sheets for _Sound of Drums_ were long. I had the longest, at 29 pages. I think Stephen had an average length sheet at 20 pages. That length, that close to the con, was pushing it. But, I was able to read mine through a couple of times, and we did have time to make family tree notes right before the game.

And, the character sheet I got gave me my first indication that, however much in love the GMs were with their world, they weren't letting that get in the way of writing a good larp.

So, primitive folks living in the woods die a lot. And, there had been a lot of deaths in the backhistory, due to accident and to other causes. And, sometimes, the other causes were ugly. For, the GMs had grasped the essential reason -- from a larp writing point of view -- to have lots of polyamorous relationships. Sexual politics means really complicated tribal politics means so many more connections between PCs means Plot! Yay plot! Character-centered plot! The best of both worlds!

And, hey, if all else failed, we could beat on our drums.

So, after _Camelot Court of Love_, we changed, grabbed a quick lunch, and went to our game. This is the part the GMs thought was a big problem, but it really was only a minor blip. The chairs were arranged in a big circle, and folks weren't entirely sure how things would start. So? We played around on the various drums, getting a feel for them, and for each other's style. I met the player of Reed, Rushlight's husband. He said that Rushlight had often said that all she'd have to do was tell him a few more secrets, and he'd know all she knew. I'm not sure if that's in Rushlight's sheet. If not, it should be -- but I've not reread my sheet yet, so I don't know. Marriage is for the purpose of having children, and it is not a limit to the sexual promiscuity of the Leyanti, but it was clear that Reed adored his wife, and, as far as I recall, she had no lovers besides him. (She had been his first sexual partner, as he'd done what many young folks did, gone to the shaman for instruction in this. This was a minor squick when I read it, due to the young age he was then (not a problem, just something that made me squirm for an instant), but as of game start, both were old enough that a fifteen year difference was nothing.)

Everyone went around the circle saying who we were and who we were playing. Then, the GMs suggested folks head out, except for the shaman and the chief, Nightshade, so the two of us could do a quick "what we're trying to settle tonight" chat. This didn't take long, as, by and large, we both saw eye to eye on Anders, the stranger the chief loved.

Once folks were back in, after a bit of conversation, Rabbit's player (Sarah Butler?) said, "Guys? Could we maybe pull the circle in so that we can hear each other?" And, that settled the special issues for the evening, mostly. We did need to expand the circle several times, for reasons I'll get to later, and the acoustics combined with some players speaking very quietly were occasionally an issue. But, we had our space, we had lights low enough that we had Atmosphere, but high enough that we could read our character sheets as needed, and we were good to go. Oh yes, the GMs had turned all the emailed material into two small booklets in a pouch, and most of us had really nifty amulets with the sigil of our chosen god on them.

So, folks started drumming. Now, I've been in drumming circles before, so I'm aware that the drums talk. I've heard people talk with them, saying, "Speed it up." "Slow it down." "Build to a big finish." "Hey, guys, try this one." All mellow.

This was the first time I heard angry drumming. It was obvious that Redcrest was angry. Her posture made that clear. But, I could also tell this if I closed my eyes and just listened to the drumming. Not a great revelation, of course -- but really good roleplaying, and it helped set the mood.

Then, Chief Nightshade asked about any business, and Eagle (played by Stephen Tihor) asked why the four strangers were still with the tribe. The time had come for them to go.

Rushlight sat up and took notice of that, since Eagle was a fairly calm guy. Redcrest clearly wanted the strangers Gone. Now! This was not as surprising as Eagle's moderate, polite, but nevertheless clear opinion.

I don't think I'd realized that strangers generally only stayed a moon's length of time. Of course, strangers did sometimes join the Leyanti. Indeed, the Leyanti were founded by various outcasts from various peoples that sort of just found each other and bonded with the cats. But, as Eagle noted, accepting one stranger, perhaps two, was quite different from adding four at once.

Rushlight decided to start folks looking at this as a case by case basis. She wanted Anders to join the Leyanti, and said that she wanted to speak with him about this. There was some hostility to this idea, and someone, I think Redcrest, said that it would be some time before he learned to walk as a Leyanti.

Redcrest: Let him crawl, first.

Kasimir said that he would have died had not the Leyanti found him, but he had no intention of staying. Rushlight seized on this eagerly, as it clearly showed that four strangers were _not_ going to join at once. Let Kasimir go so that Anders could stay, she thought.

This raised the question of why Kasimir was still there. Not being sure of how well he was doing, I said, as Rushlight, that he was better, but not quite healed yet. Leyanti asked when he would be healed. Improvising, I said soon, and certainly no later than the next full moon, e.g., the next council meeting. Eagle was satisfied with this, some of the others less so.

That left Lucius and his sister Umbra. Umbra was still ill. Redcrest seemed to be in favor of letting Umbra stay until she was well while Lucius left. However, there were a couple of problems with this apparently reasonable solution.

First, Lucius did not wish to leave his sister. Second, Rushlight explained that she still did not know why Umbra was ill. Redcrest and others noted that if Rushlight had done all she could, perhaps it made no sense for Umbra or Lucius to remain. Rushlight needed more time and more information to speak to this.

The problem was that there was some great mystery about the siblings, and Rushlight could see only enough to know that this was so, but not what it was. Umbra seemed neither human nor spirit. So, Rushlight turned to her sister, Stormlight, who could probably have been a far more powerful shaman had she wished. She had no idea that Stormlight was jealous of her -- or, at any rate, used to be. They had a good symbiotic relationship in the game. Stormlight found out what was going on, and Rushlight dealt with it.

Between her sister and a couple of other people, Rushlight learned that Umbra and Lucius might or might not be brother and sister, and that Lucius might or might not be the cause of Umbra's illness. Umbra had a scar on one hand that was matched by one on Lucius's opposite hand. Rushlight asked for someone to ask Umbra to come to her, and Umbra did.

Umbra assured Rushlight that she and Lucius were indeed siblings. She did not wish to be parted from her brother, saying that she would not feel safe if that happened. Giving Redcrest's attitude, Rushlight did not try to convince Umbra otherwise, but did ask if, even if Umbra were not to feel unsafe without Lucius, Umbra would sicken more and die without her brother.

Umbra: I do not know.

It became clear that Umbra did know something more, something about why she was ill, what she and her brother were, but she did not wish to say more.

Rushlight: How can I say that you should stay if you will not tell me?

Umbra: Perhaps you should not.

At this point, people were no longer in official council mode, but were wandering around, talking to people. Someone, possibly Stormlight, told Rushlight that the strange wounds Kasimir had when he was first brought to the village had been caused by Lucius. Rushlight told Stormlight to learn what she could, and then turned her attention to Anders. This meant that there were a lot of things going on that I never quite learned, as in any larp. It only felt odd here because of the growing sense of community the first two hours created, but I remember when I was a department manager of a small department in a large open space that one could miss a great deal indeed.

So, Anders loved the Nightshade, and she returned his love. This had both religious and political implications.

Nightshade had not been born Leyanti. The old chief and his wife had no children, and the old chief's other lovers were all men. But, they found a strange dark-skinned baby and adopted her as their own, intending that she should be the next chief. They had to fight many duels about that -- more on those later. But, the old shaman, Rushlight's teacher Briary, had supported them, and the child had grown up learning the Leyanti ways, and became chief in turn. Even Redcrest seemed to have no objection to her as chief.

Redcrest: Not all strangers are like you, Nightshade.

But, Nightshade, the chief, who had been born a stranger, though she was beyond doubt Leyanti now, was in love with a man who was a stranger. Oh yeah, sexual politics maketh larp plot.

Nightshade was an initiate of to the Red Woman, the Leyanti warrior goddess. Indeed, if I recall correctly, she might have been a Great Cat of that goddess.

That is: The gods of the Leyanti had all lived among the Leyanti as people, although they were gods, and had died. They sometimes manifested through one with a very strong connection to them. Such a one was called a Great Cat. There were at least four such Great Cats. Four out of the seven gods. When Leyanti came of age, they usually chose a god to whom to dedicate themselves. If the shaman assented, they would go on a solitary vision quest, lasting at least three days -- at least five for a child of a chief -- in which they were expected to kill an elk. The symbol of their chosen god would be carved on an amulet, and the amulet was made from the shoulder bone of the elk they killed.

There were some exceptions. Some, like Rushlight's sister, Stormlight, never underwent initiation. Some, like Silence, or Patch, or Eagle changed gods for one reason or another. Patch and Eagle had good reasons for what they did, and their choices seemed right to Rushlight. Silence was another matter.

The gods were, in no particular order, the Sun, the Moon (Rushlight's chosen god), the Trickster, the Hunter, the Earth, the Red Woman, and the seventh, unnamed god, the Red Woman's Husband. This was the Leyanti death god.

Silence had followed that god since his wife, Melody, had been killed. Rushlight did not think that this was the right reason to choose that god, but Silence would not be dissuaded. However, she thought Anders might be able to bond well with this god, partly because of his connection with Nightshade, and partly because of the odd experiences he had undergone in the past. She knew little about them, only that there seemed to be some sort of curse.

Anders agreed that it was a curse. He had been taken by a warlike tribe who thought he worshipped the god whose symbol he wore around his neck. He had not, he told Rushlight, but nevertheless, they bound him to their bear god of death and sent him for to wreak vengeance on the followers of the god they thought he served. He left death in his wake, a thing he did not wish to do to the Leyanti.

Rushlight told him the story of the Leyanti warrior who tried to kill Death, the Red Woman's Husband, to protect his people. He would not be dissuaded by the Sun or the Moon or the Red Woman herself, even though all told him that without death, there could be no life. People, animals, and plants would get old and withered and corrupt, life choking on life. He believed none of this until he looked in Death's eyes and realized that Death was no enemy.

Rushlight said that Anders did not fear death, but himself, and Anders agreed. He told her a story about a woman who had been given a box that she was not to open. But, open it she did, and from that box came all the ills of the world, even though she closed it as soon as she realized her error. But, there was one thing left in the box, a white bird that told her to release it as well, and that white bird was Hope. For the first time, Anders believed he might see that white bird.

Rushlight, Anders, and Nightshade agreed that Rushlight would not send Anders out on a visionquest just yet, as there was no way he could manage to kill an elk. However, she would dedicate him to the seventh god. Normally, leaving the council circle is considered rude, but it was understood that the shaman might well need to do so, sometimes with others, to council them and to bring them on spiritual journeys.

Rushlight painted the sign of the seventh god on Anders' face with his quill (as there was no brush for the ink) and took him into her hut and burned herbs that put them both in a trance. They seemed to be looking down at Anders' body. A bear was sitting on it, as represented by one of the GMs. (I'm trying to remember whether she had a god mask on. I don't think she did, at this point.)

Rushlight tried to bargain with the bear god, asking if the Leyanti could have Anders. She explained that he did not worship the god whose symbol he had worn and whose followers had done whatever they had done against the bear god's people. The bear god said that if that were so, then Anders had been telling a lie by wearing it.

Rushlight accepted that interpretation, but suggested that, given the bear god said that Anders had slain all who had committed atrocities against his people, the debt was paid. The bear god asked if any of Rushlight's gods were alive.

This was something of an awkward question, for gods came to the Leyanti village to live, and they lived until they died. Rushlight accepted this, but she thought that her sister, Stormlight, and her former apprentice had great difficulty with this concept. And, she did not wish to show weakness to the bear. I forget exactly what was said, but she definitely ducked the question, and asked again if they Leyanti could have Anders.

GM: Spirit combat!

Rushlight was quite good at spirit combat, but the bear was a god, after all, so the first R-P-S exchange left her shaken. Then, Anders helped. Somehow, the two managed to defeat the bear god, or, at least, convince him not to press the issue.

Then, the seventh god of the Leyanti, the Red Woman's husband, appeared and welcomed Anders, as represented by the GM putting on the appropriate godmask, a white mask with the god's sigil between the eyeholes. The Red Woman's Husband blessed Anders, and removed the curse of the bear god, replacing it with his own gift.

In mechanical terms, this meant that Anders would no longer go uncontrollably berserk when attacked. He could control his frenzy. Indeed, he could not achieve this frenzy unless Nightshade were present.

Mechanically speaking, the frenzy made him four times as powerful as normal, which meant his total starting score was 4. This is far more than the average person, but the Leyanti are not average people. This was to become important very soon.

By now, I needed to, ah, water the horses, yes. And, I'm sure that, even though it is considered Very Rude to leave a council circle, exceptions are made, even among the Leyanti, for this. On the way out, Redcrest and at least one other person said they needed to speak to Rushlight, and by the time I came back, at least four people needed her.

She spoke first to Redcrest, who wanted to talk to her before she worked with Anders. Redcrest was not pleased to learn that Rushlight had already taken Anders to meet the seventh god. Rushlight explained that this was the crawling stage, but Redcrest was not mollified. I think she said something about how Anders just wasn't ready to hunt an elk, but even if she did, Redcrest had other reasons to be concerned.

Stonefleck spoke with Rushlight, asking if anyone had yet received the story of the Hunter's Grandson, a wonderfully mystical story that only the shaman (and possibly her husband) and initiates of the Hunter knew. Alas, no one had come to Rushlight to tell her about receiving the story in a dream.

Stormlight told Rushlight that Lucius and Umbra were gods. Umbra was sick because her story was being changed. This shocked Rushlight to her core, but explained a great deal. She spoke privately with Umbra, who confirmed this, but did not want to say more, let alone have this shared with anyone else.

Eagle wanted the shaman to provide the Leyanti equivalent of marital counseling. His wife, Fireheart, had had sex with Rabbit. Now, the Leyanti are perfectly fine with extramarital affairs with both genders. Indeed, while Rushlight never learned this in game, I think her husband and one of her daughters had had sex with Anders. Certainly, her husband was fascinated with the idea of writing that Anders had brought with him.

The Leyanti did forbid incest and also sleeping with those too young to be initiated. However, not all Leyanti were initiated, and the uninitiated were not expected to remain celibate all their lives. Stormlight had never been initiated, but had married, and was the mother of two children.

But, during the period when a Leyanti has come of age, but not sought initiation, before it becomes clear that this isn't going to happen (if it isn't), sex between an initiate and one who is uninitiated is in an odd grey area. It is not forbidden, but it is not something with which the Leyanti as a whole feel comfortable.

Rabbit was of an age to be initiated, and this was his first council circle, even though he had been old enough to attend for several moons. Rushlight recalled his behavior, and concluded that he had not been injured by having sex with Fireheart. To him, it was a fun thing to do. And, it was not forbidden.

But, neither was it encouraged, and it clearly made Eagle uncomfortable. It made Rushlight uncomfortable. She wasn't sure how Eagle's marriage would be affected by the whole thing. So, she said that, while no harm was done, it would be best for Fireheart to wait until Rabbit became initiated before doing it again. Rushlight was confident that Rabbit would pick a god, so this should not be a hardship.

Fireheart: I hear you.

Rushlight was well aware that this was not a promise, so she urged the woman to wait at least a moon or two, and see how things transpired.

Fireheart: I hear your words, shaman.

Well, you try telling a devotee of the Trickster what to do. Eagle was still happier, as the shaman had clearly spoken, and if he decided he needed to challenge Fireheart in council, it was no longer Eagle fighting with his wife. It was Eagle challenging a woman who refused to follow the course of action set for her by the shaman.

Rabbit wanted to speak with Rushlight about gods and initiation, but somehow, this got lost in the shuffle. Typical, isn't it? Still, it worked out well in the end.

The council reconvened, and things began to happen.

First, someone revealed that Kasimir was the man who had killed Silence's wife, Melody. I am not entirely sure how this information came out, or how hard the GMs needed to push, but I know there were at least two vectors. Silence recalled the smell, I think, although why this had not happened before, I don't know. Perhaps Kasimir was too sick to mingle before. Second, someone may have received a vision. There was a potential third vector as well: Kasimir had kept Melody's god amulet. I don't know if he kept it out of guilt, as a trophy, as a curiosity, or what, but he was lucky the Leyanti never found that out.

Kasimir's side of the story, as I understand it, was that he was hunting one of the Leyanti's cats, or maybe had thought the cat a danger to him. When he attacked it, Silence and Melody assumed that he was attacking them, and he killed Melody in self defense.

Whether it was or was not self defense was an interesting question, but not the one Rushlight had. Kasimir had freely admitted his deed. Had he done so before he was confronted with the accusation?

He had not. Rushlight just shook her head.

Silence (pointing to Kasimir): Asumi!

Kasimir: I'm... sorry? I don't know what that means.

Reed: It is our ritual duel. It is also the first word that he has spoken in a Very Long Time.

This is why I don't think the GMs should pre-seed an asumi duel. If they had, we would never have gotten such a powerful moment. And things only built from there.

Now, despite his current name, Silence had not been written as a mute character. But, he was played by David Lichtenstein, who is a silent interpreter. So, he decided to play the character mute.

No one, at any point, said "Oh, he's playing it silent." David never mentioned he would. I assumed after the first couple of minutes that I'd forgotten the bit about muteness in my character sheet. Everyone else either did likewise, or quickly adapted. This was easy.

He communicated by short, sharp gestures, and we had no problem understanding what he was trying to convey. "Asumi" really and truly was the first word that he spoke all game. Two hours of silence made that resonate.

Reed: How many rounds?

Silence held up two fingers.

For the first of several times that evening, I asked, "Who is unbiased enough to drum for this?"

Asumi goes a variable number of 2 minute rounds, and there is a designated drummer, although others may also drum. After each round, R-P-S determines who adds one point for sheer physical prowess, while the drummer decides who adds one point for having the emotional / spiritual upper hand.

There were a couple of volunteers, but Silence pointed to Reed. Reed agreed:

Reed: I'm just an old man who wants to hear the stories... Silence will tell his story and you will tell yours. If you deserve any lenience at all, then through Asumi we will hear.

We decided that we needed to widen the circle for asumi, so as to give the participants room to circle each other. This sometimes meant it was hard to hear the combatants, even though the drummers did their best to keep their part low. But, this one was easy to understand.

Silence spoke eloquently, about how once there was joy and companionship and music. Once there was love and companionship. Once he was not alone, and his companion was Melody.

There was more of this, though I forget the words. Kasimir tried to say it was an accident and that he didn't want to hurt Silence more than he already had.

At some point, the GMs indicated they should pantomime the fighting part. There was a sort of amused, awkward beat, and then both players did so. Cue the old Star Trek fight music.

Silence won after the two rounds, and threw Kasimir to the ground. Kasimir said that he would leave.

Silence: If I ever see you or scent you again, you are mine!

At that point, Nat Budin, who played Kasimir, left the room, then returned to play a Leyanti cat. As the GMs later explained, his character questionnaire said, "I like characters with enough rope to hang themselves, and not enough wisdom not to do it."

Well. One stranger had been dealt with -- and was luckier than we knew to have escaped with his life.

Rushlight then spoke for Anders, saying that she had taken him to see the seventh god, that he had been cursed, but the seventh god had removed the curse of bloodlust, and that he would leave if his presence endangered so much as a single Leyanti. That last was a bit of hyperbole that Rushlight soon regretted -- but it was the essence of Anders.

Rushlight spoke with Shaman's Word. Mechanically, this meant that her word was final, and the matter settled -- unless three or more Leyanti objected, in which case it could be reopened. I think two objected, Redcrest and Bloodmark, Eagle's son. Eagle considered objecting, but he had been moved by Anders' words, and also wanted to avoid a hasty decision, especially as he was torn by his opinions of his duty to the tribe and his wife's opinions.

Rabbit said that Anders would need a cat, and that he would take Anders to meet the cubs tomorrow.

Nightshade's player had planned to use Chief's Word, which would have required four or more Leyanti to reopen. I think it was good that she did not.

For, Redcrest now revealed why she was so opposed to Anders' presence. The Chief was carrying his child.

Nightshade: How did you know?

Redcrest: You cannot hide this from the Earth.

I thought that this meant that Redcrest was an initiate of Earth, but she was actually an initiate of the Red Woman, the Warrior, just as Nightshade was. I think she had found out that Nightshade was pregnant from Earthwise, who was an initiate of Earth. The pregnancy was a surprise to Rushlight.

For any not keeping score here: This is what I mean about complicated sexual politics making for good plot. If memory serves, Redcrest and Earthwise were lovers, and they were split in their opinions on what to do about the strangers. Ivywater was lovers with both of them, and had torn loyalties. Oh yes: Eagle was lovers with Redcrest. The chief was not a native born Leyanti, but had proved herself. But, her child was fathered by a stranger. What did this mean for the future of the tribe? How could this not be a threat?

Nightshade argued that it meant nothing ill. Her child would be raised Leyanti from the beginning. And Anders vowed never to leave her side.

Redcrest seized on this, of course. He had sworn to leave if he endangered so much as a single Leyanti. He had sworn never to leave Nightshade. How could he possibly keep both vows?

Anders: There is only one way. I will never endanger a single Leyanti.

He told of how he had fought beside the Leyanti shaman. He told of how he had learned that without death, life chokes on life. He said that he was of the Leyanti.

Redcrest argued otherwise. Anders stood and walked over to where she sat, standing over her.

Anders: Asumi!

Rushlight was worried, but at this point, the matter was no longer in her hand. Reed tried to dissuade Anders.

Reed: Are you sure? You do not have to do this.

But, it felt so right.

I forget who drummed, but Anders specified two rounds. After checking the characters abilities, the GM narrated the combat. Redcrest seemed to be winning easily, but then Anders looked on the Nightshade and fought like he had never fought before. It was not enough.

Yet, even though she had won, Redcrest was subdued. I didn't know whether it was a case of someone putting up a respectable fight, yet not being so obnoxious enough as to win, or whether Redcrest sensed Anders' inner core, or whether it was something else. Their conversation was quiet, and even though I heard it all, I cannot remember it now. I do remember Rabbit asking if he were still taking Anders to meet the cubs the next day.

Redcrest: That is not for me to say.

Reed (post game, i.e., in player's email) on the story of Anders and his Asumi duel with Redcrest:

But what was it, you may ask, that changed in that Asumi? Was it Redcrest's respect for the challenge itself? Was it an acknowledgment of the effort of his struggle?

We have heard the story many a time of the brutal tribe with braided beards came upon us, banging their spears on the ground saying "Show us your gods! Show us your Gods of War that we may do battle with them and prove our glory!" And how the chief spoke of Khai-Uls, and bade them leave. But, their mockery did not cease. Through all this, Khai-Uls listened, and lie in wait. It was not until their warchief attacked our chief and knocked him to the ground that Khai-Uls sprang forth and took the warchief by the throat. "Know this," said the Red Woman, "I am the Warrior of the Leyanti. Though you called me out, though you angered me, though you insulted me, I did not step forth to harm you. For I can rest in peace, asleep in the blood of my people, through all your meaningless noise. But when my people are threatened, I will strike..."

And so it was that truly, the only way for Anders to show Redcrest what it was that had passed between him and the Red Woman's husband, was this challenge. For in the heat of Asumi, Anders roused Khai-Uls from her slumber in Redcrest's blood. When Anders' eyes fell on Nightshade and his fight redoubled, that was the crucial instant.

It was in this moment, Anders blood still hot from his vision where Khai-Uls Gentek had embraced him, and Redcrest summoning strength from the Red Woman and seeing him with her eyes -- where everything changed.

It was Khai Uls herself, recognizing a true devoted of her husband that calmed Redcrest's heart.

Or so the story is told...

David (who played Reed): I was almost worried Anders would listen to me when I told him he didn't have to challenge her...almost. Heh-heh-heh...

Amber, who played Redcrest, confirmed this, saying:

David's got it just about perfectly right; as Redcrest, I didn't just want to be contrary, I wanted to protect the tribe from external dangers. Redcrest was a follower of the Warrior, not the Earth, and when Anders's summoned the Red Woman's Husband, that proved to Redcrest that he was an internal danger, not external. If the Gods had accepted him and one of Them had taken Anders as their own, what would be the point of Redcrest's anger? She certainly believed wholeheartedly in the Gods, and They had clearly spoken to take in this man, whether she liked him or not as a person. He was a part of the Tribe. He Belonged.

Which of course, also meant that he'd need some serious training to be able to survive his challenge. I've imagined since the end of game that Redcrest would take a bit of enjoyment watching him get bucked around by the elk, but that in the end, she would absolutely make good on her promise to help him become a suitable Leyanti.

Meanwhile, there was another brief respite. During this time, Bluebell challenged Fox to a single round of Asumi, which she won. She was trying to determine which god to dedicate herself to, and she challenged Fox to see if Hunter, Fox's chose, was the worthiest. This may seem somewhat anticlimactic after the earlier challenges, but it not only provided a respite from the more weighty ones; it also showed that asumi duels need not be acrimonious or fueled by hate.

Council resumed again, and Rushlight asked Umbra to let her speak of what she now knew.

Umbra: I would prefer that you did not.

Rushlight was torn. She said that she wanted to help, but if Umbra would not allow her to speak of what she knew, she could not in good conscience tell the Leyanti to allow the siblings to stay. Other Leyanti said that if the siblings were to join the tribe, they would have to trust it enough to tell their story.

Lucius joined Umbra inside the circle and told their tale. He took his sister's scarred hand in his own, explaining that they had always been together. Always. Day and night, light and dark, sun and moon -- call them whichever you would. But, then, the stories began to change, yes. He and his sister were separated -- they dropped hands to show their scars.

Yes, they were gods. Rumors followed them, men followed them. Yes, there were deaths. Kasimir had followed and attacked them, and yes, Lucius had wounded him, striking with fire, as if the sun's rays were swords.

This changed everything. The Leyanti were used to gods living among them. The rules for gods were different than the rules for men. The Leyanti did not know that Lucius and Umbra were lovers, as well as brother and sister, but at that point, it would not have mattered so much. The laws for gods were different.

But, while this changed everything, it did not settle the question of whether Lucius and Umbra could stay. Rabbit asked why people persecuted the siblings so.

Rushlight: Because they are afraid.

Redcrest: They are right to be afraid.

Rushlight: I do not say they are not.

And, perhaps for the first time that evening, the two women seemed to understand each other, at least in this matter. Redcrest was not saying that it was right to attack something simply because you fear it, and Rushlight was not saying that one should not fear the unknown or always welcome it. This was a matter she was not presuming to rule on for the tribe. Instead, she was fighting to make sure that the tribe knew all it needed to before it reached a decision.

Eagle decided that the shaman needed more knowledge, so he challenged Lucius to a single round of asumi. This was not a bitter fight, as the first two duels of the evening were. It was closer to the third, a duel to gain knowledge. And, the earlier duel had paved the way for this one.

Rushlight: Who is unbiased enough to drum in this?

The consensus was that the shaman herself should drum, a decision with which she could not argue.

As the duel began, Eagle walked around the circle, saying goodbye to everyone he knew and loved, just in case. He was well aware of the risks involved in challenging a god.

This was both a physical and a spiritual duel. As the combatants circled, Lucius put on a god mask. Rushlight looked to see if it had a symbol of the Sun, but it was blank. Yet, as he circled, as far as I could hear, he seemed to be saying that he was the Sun, the same god to whom Eagle was initiate, willing Eagle to believe this.

I am extremely glad the GM did not ask for Rushlight's call on who the drummer thought had the edge. Lucius was powerful. Eagle seemed more or less to be holding his own -- or was that only because that was what Rushlight wanted to believe? I wasn't sure.

They were very closely matched and had, from what I could understand, the stats and the same special ability to win ties, and the R-P-S was a tie -- both chose rock. So, they did it again, and this time Lucius won. Eagle was wounded with a wound similar to the ones on Kasimir. Fireheart ran to him in dismay.

Rushlight healed Eagle. This and the dream journey were abilities she could use once an hour, but, happily, this was the only call for the healing ability. As far as I could tell, Lucius had basically proved his right to be a god, perhaps becoming the new Sun. Indeed, Eagle said, "He has enough Sun in him."

So, it seemed quite obvious what Rushlight had to do.

Rushlight (pointing to a very surprised Umbra): Asumi.

Rushlight may be the only one who found this the obvious thing to do. Well, Eagle was fairly confident that all was proceeding as it should. He had brought the shaman more knowledge, and she had determined that this was what she had to do. But, many Leyanti -- and the GMs -- were very surprised. The GMs had been expecting asumi duels between Redcrest and Nightshade, as the former challenged the latter's right to be chief, and between Eagle and Fireheart. as the former challenged the latter's choice of lovers -- not between old Rushlight and fragile Umbra.

Calm, placid Reed was on his feet in an instant, trying to talk his wife out of this madness. This was something that I was aware of, but only appreciated in retrospect, as it just seemed too obvious that Rushlight had to have an asumi duel. She had to know, just as Eagle had to know with Lucius.

She asked her sister to drum. Stormlight agreed. Someone asked who would heal Rushlight if she fell. There were at least two Leyanti who said that they could do this, one of whom I think was Rushlight's daughter.

Now, I fully expected Rushlight would lose this, just as Eagle had lost to Sun, and thus the two stranger gods would prove their right to join the Leyanti pantheon, all neat and tidy.

It didn't happen that way. First, the GMs gave me the god mask of the Moon and the ability card to go with it. I assumed that was because I was effectively channeling Moon as Eagle channeled Sun, although Eagle did not have Sun's godmask in his duel. But, the GMs later told me I got the mask because of the sheer coolness of the challenge.

As Moon, I asked if Umbra wanted to take my place. She was confused, pointing out, not unreasonably, that it was not she who had asked for this duel. This was one of the times when the combination of acoustics and our lack of desire to shout made it hard for folks to hear. This included me -- I had trouble hearing both Umbra's player and exactly what the GM said at first.

GM: This is probably the weirdest, most abstract duel any of you have ever seen. They're just talking and staring intently at each other. And then, Umbra has lost.

This confused me for several seconds, as I heard "Umbra is lost", which was not at all something I considered desirable. But, it was not as bad as all that; merely rather confusing.

Umbra stumbled back and Rushlight / Moon caught her and asked if she would watch over the Leyanti.

Umbra: If you will have me.

Moon: This is not my choice only. (removes mask)

Rushlight: This is not my choice only.

And some one of the Leyanti said that the stranger gods should stay.

And someone else said, "Yes." And then another. And another.

That alone is enough to send a thrill up the spine, hearing yes after yes, knowing you've done that, almost by accident.

I think Reed was silent, just being relieved that his wife seemed to be all right. But, I was holding the hand of Umbra's player, facing into the circle, so I only saw about half of the people.

And then, from somewhere behind me, Redcrest said, "Yes." That was awesomely special. And one after another, more Leyanti said yes.

And then there was this tidal wave of emotional catharsis after catharsis. Some were small. Rushlight went to reassure her husband.

Rushlight: It is well.

Reed: You are well?

Rushlight: Yes.

Reed: Then, it is well.

Some were larger.

Years past, the Leyanti who was now Patch was in love with a woman who had sex with him, but also with his friend Eagle. He could not accept this, and fell prey to jealousy. He tried to kill Eagle, but the woman, Fern, intervened, and was killed instead. Eagle bound his friend and brought him to council where the two fought an asumi duel. Eagle blinded his friend in one eye and had to be pulled off him.

And that is how Patch lost his eye, how he became Patch, and how he switched from his old god to follow the Trickster.

This story was known to the Leyanti, but not to the strangers. Eagle told it to Anders to warn the new addition to the tribe about Nightshade taking other lovers, so that he would understand the dangers of jealousy. Anders' player said that when he saw Patch, with a strip of cloth over one eye, it was wonderful. He thought, "I know your story!"

Patch and Eagle had not spoken to each other in years, I gather. But somehow, something now reconciled them. Perhaps it was Patch seeing the tension resolved between Eagle and Fireheart. Perhaps it was seeing Eagle risking his life in an asumi duel to bring the tribe information it needed.

Patch: Forgive me?

Eagle: I forgave you years ago!

When the two of them hugged in reconciliation, I'm not sure how many of us were able to keep our eyes entirely dry.

We knew their story. We had seen them live it, and now we saw it completed as it should be.

Fireheart: Now I have _two_ idiots to look after!

Meanwhile, Rushlight had decided to name her oldest daughter her apprentice. There was a bit of confusion as the player thought that her character already was Rushlight's apprentice, but it turned out that she was apprenticed to the woman who had the strongest connection to the Earth goddess. She certainly had no objection to being Rushlight's apprentice as well, and given that this was one of two people my character sheet said that Rushlight was thinking of taking as apprentice, clearly that was all right.

Rabbit complained that he had not been able to speak to the shaman. Rushlight went to talk to him, and he explained the difficulty he had in choosing just one god. As they talked, Bluebell challenged Lucius to a round of asumi.

He tried to talk her out of this, as did Rushlight. Bluebell protested that she needed to know if she were strong enough, if she were worthy, if he were worthy. Rushlight noted that she was putting Lucius in a position where he would be forced to hurt her. A couple of Leyanti said that Bluebell needed to make her own choice, and Rushlight did not dispute that nor forbid the challenge. She did, however, think it was unwise.

Now, this was to be the final asumi challenge of the evening, and it ended differently from all the others, and was a logical progression from them. The duels we had were:

Asumi Duels:

1. Silence-Kasimir
2. Anders-Redcrest
3. Bluebell-Fox
4. Eagle-Lucius
5. Rushlight-Umbra
6. Bluebell-Lucius

The first was an inevitable, bitter duel that had to be fought. The second was to prove Anders' place in the tribe, a duel that started with bitterness on one side, and ended in thought and the hope of reconciliation.

The third introduced the idea that a duel need not be a bitter thing, and could be fought among friends, in a friendly fashion. This led to the fourth duel, fought to learn the truth. That led directly to the fifth, fought for the same reasons, if far more abstractly.

This sixth duel was an outgrowth of these. Bluebell was fighting to learn, about herself and her world. Lucius told her that there could be no duel without two to fight it.

And he walked away from her, refusing her challenge.

It was perfect. And it left Bluebell feeling lost. But, she examined her heart, and decided that she would become an initiate of the Sun.

Annie, who played Dewsong, wrote: After Bluebell challenged Lucius to Asumi, Dewsong got all up in his face and begged him to refuse the challenge. Although she had voted for he and Umbra to stay with the Leyanti, she was still fearful of the gods she had known all her life, never mind new ones.

She insisted, "You want to protect your sister; I want to protect mine." Probably she was a little bit OVERprotective (an interesting role reversal for me as a player, as many of my LARP characters have been on the other side of that dynamic). And I'm not sure it had any bearing on Lucius' decision, but considering that he was thinking of sacrificing his champion (which I/she didn't know at the time), she may have been right to try.

I think she's right. Regardless, Dewsong decided to become an initiate of the sun. Rushlight agreed to paint the sign on her and to get her one of the god amulets which -- which --

And I completely spaced exactly where the heck the Leyanti got them from.

Rabbit: We carve them from the shoulder bones of elk. The elk we kill for the tribe when we become initiate, remember?

At that point, Rushlight had already thought that she had named an apprentice too soon, for her conversation with Rabbit had convinced her that here was her true successor.

She got the ink and quill to put the sign on Bluebell's brow, and I asked someone to show me the symbol again.

Rabbit (again ready to help): Here: It's the easiest one to draw.

And, out of character, Sarah, who played Rabbit, said that she knew, for she had made every single one of the amulets for the game. And they looked exactly as they should.

Bluebell was ready, and at dawn, she would leave on her quest.

I asked the GMs if Rushlight could take two apprentices. They said that this was certainly not unheard of, especially for a shaman. So, Rushlight told the tribe that she would be taking as apprentice both her older daughter, who had already agreed, and Rabbit, if he agreed.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Rabbit.

Someone: Rabbit, you are going to become initiate then?

And again, I felt silly, for I'd managed to forget that naming him as apprentice meant he'd have to make his choice then and there, rather than over time.

On the other hand, this would resolve the problem between Eagle and Fireheart. Rabbit's status would no longer be gray.

And, it gave Rabbit's player the spotlight, which was a good thing. She proceeded to make the most of it, which included letting other folks get in some good lines.

Rabbit repeated the breathless explanation he'd given Rushlight, about how he admired all of the people who followed the Hunter, but didn't want to be that always, and how even the Trickster, even though sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes an it, was too limiting, and how it was so hard to choose.

Patch and Eagle's wife, who followed the Trickster agreed that Rabbit was definitely one of the Trickster's This worried Rushlight, who understood that Rabbit didn't think so, and she didn't want him committing to the wrong god.

Then, Rabbit spoke of how he really liked Lucius, but he also liked Umbra.

Rushlight: Oh, yes, that's the answer!

Well, perhaps not Rabbit's answer, for Rushlight had been thinking about the new gods ever since they had been accepted by the Leyanti. Lucius had defeated the Sun, but the Moon had defeated Umbra. Were Lucius and Umbra to be Sun and Moon? Day and Night? Sun and Night? Were the Leyanti now to have nine gods, as they seemed to think? Or seven, with Umbra and Lucius becoming Moon and Sun? Or eight, with Lucius as the Sun and Umbra as the Night? These are the kinds of conundrums that keep shamans awake at night.

But, Rabbit's words gave her an idea. The two gods should share one god sign. They would be Day-and-Night. Perhaps this would help heal them.

Rushlight: After all, you did say that you never wished to be parted.

Someone (Patch?): Rabbit, have you just solved a problem of the gods?

The GMs, while not seeing that one coming, rolled with it and drew a new sign on a piece of paper, which they handed to me, a sort of yin-yang design.

Rushlight: I have been given a sign!

When we finally stopped laughing at the eucatastrophe, Rabbit decided that he would become an initiate under the new sign. Silence decided to do the same.

Silence: It is time I put this aside.

And he took off the amulet of the Warrior's Husband, the death god for whom he was never truly suited. Another note in the symphony.

Rushlight took it from him, relieved. And, if each Leyanti didn't have to kill his or her own elk to get the shoulder bone to carve the amulet, she would have given it to Anders. Fortunately, Rabbit had reminded her / me earlier.

So, Rabbit and Silence decided to go together to become initiates of the twin gods.

Lucius: All who take initiation with us must do it in pairs.

And that felt so very right.

Rabbit and Silence started dancing, and those of us wanting to drum did so with enthusiasm. Dancing and drumming all ended at the same time, at the right time, and so ended the larp.

Stuff I totally forgot during game:

Silence's dead wife was Rushlight's apprentice until she died.

Redcrest was the reason Rushlight was careful about testing those who would be initiated. She and Rushlight thought she should become an initiate of the Hunter, and she nearly died before becoming an initiate of the Red Warrior instead.

Stuff I found out afterwards:

Lucius had been trying to create a champion. This is why people in that far away land called Rome were dying: They were vying to become his champion. He had hoped that the sacrifice of a champion would save Umbra. But, he was willing to try the Leyanti's gentler ways, and I think that refusing to fight Bluebell was a big step in the right direction.

Their tale was related to Ahura Mazda, which Eagle had learned from Kasimir.

Kasimir had Melody's god sign.

Anders had been sleeping around, though perhaps not as much as I had thought. William, who played Anders, explained:

To clear this up: Anders was actually quite confused and more than a bit daunted by the polyamory of the Leyanti tribe. His only female partner was Nightshade, and his only male partner was Reed. Reed was unintentional on Anders's part - he kind of got ambushed (in a good way) on the river at one point. This confused him greatly later upon finding out that Reed was the father of Greenleaf, one of Nightshade's lovers - a girl who had oft joked about getting the three of them (Anders, Nightshade, and herself) together at once. To quote my character sheet: "Now you feel incredibly awkward about it."

So, with the exception of your husband (who didn't realize until post-game that he had seduced Anders, due to missing that part in his character sheet), Anders really didn't "get with" that whole Leyanti-love-bundle thing quite yet.

At game start, no one had dreamed the secret tale of the Hunter. Either Rabbit or Bluebell might have received it had they committed themselves to the Hunter. I'm not quite sure how that would have worked mechanically, as I don't know if that happens before or after the shaman draws the godsign on them, and Rushlight was determined to make sure initiates were thoroughly committed before she did that, which, in the case of the Hunter, could be proved by knowing the secret tale, so there was a potential catch-22.