benlehman: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] benlehman at 01:25am on 05/03/2003
Bli (or bli) is the main character of "the story of bli," of which Daiethion (see below) is the setting
No shit, yah. It is his story.

Bli is perhaps the longest continuous character I have ever dealt with. As such, he is very complicated, and there are layers and layers going on.

bli is a prentice in the 12th mortschol (religious enclave for the living, rather than the dead) on Daiethion. His age is a degenerate one, but the rigorously restrictive society aroung him does not let most people see that. He, being a prophet (a prophet is a funny word -- this the the Daiethian word for someone destined to die, and by their mystical power will shape the future. It does not imply a knowledge of the future, though it can), comes into the gradual awareness that something is Terribly Wrong with his school, on nearly every level. There are not enough Dying, too many Fallen, there is no food to feed the prentices, the stories are full of lies, the halls are silent of song, and the physical structure itself is collapsing. He cannot help but think that there is something he should be doing, but his cultural training and a deep sense of shame prevent him from taking the actions necessary to correct the problems (whatever they are.) He also has a sense of something... missing. He remembers prayers in a different way from other prentices, and his prayers name a mysterious "Master," who guides the Dying towards death.

Bli travels throughout the mortschol, first by command, then by curiosity, then by rebellion, and finally by a general disgust for the people and a desire to escape. As he travels, he joins the factions that he comes across, Dying, Sentinels, Fallen, nameless, even the Torchbearers for a single, shiningly painful moment. He is looking for something, anything, a way to understand Death and life, and the processes therein on Daiethion.

At first, Bli is mainly motivated by fear and the oppression of his dreams, visions, and intuations. Later, Bli's motivation is mainly to find something, anything, that is not going to fall to pieces. Falling to pieces is much, much worse on Daiethion than here. Here, you can die. There, you are just pieces forever.

The first drafts of the story began with Bli leaving the Mortschol on a quest for this knowledge, and his encounters at the schools of Nine (lies), Three (Constructs), Thirteen (the Unknown) and One (the Ancient). Then I realized that the entire story, except the ending, where he died under X-Ray radiation on Thionside. And who needs endings, anyway?
benlehman: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] benlehman at 10:38am on 05/03/2003
Same character as Bli, translated into a fantasy setting as a god/demon/source of magical power/legend/meme.

Note that Eris is not the greek goddess of Chaos, but more tied to the root of that divine name -- Erishkigal, the lonely queen of the dead.

Anyone who has ever met a masked man or lantern bearer in one of my fantasy games -- you were meeting an acolyte of Abli.

Water is a theme throughout my writing.

Abli--
Other Names: Waterbringer, Tongue Twister, Young Long Hands,
Everdying, Screamer, Ocean-Tear, Journeyman,
the Unmasked God, Seeker of Truth, Seeker of Lies,
Bli, Barius, Babel, Thaed, Samson, Alba, Albarain,
Wearylegs, Lantern Watcher, Stranger, Dust Walker,
Brown Cloak, Wayside, Hitcher, Baronius

Grants: Great Illusions, Great Divinations, Travel, Minor Necromancy

Investments: Sacrifice of masks or other artwork, confining
one's face in a mask, cuts along the face, water
sacrifice, going without water for long periods of
time, going with only water for long periods of
time, eating only ashes and dust, an oath to never
lie, an oath to never tell the truth, an oath to
never speak, speaking only in nonsense,
speaking only in one language

Description: Abli is a God of both truth and lies who
(apparently still) travels the world attempting to
keep people from troubling the Gods (specifically
Eris) and discover some sort of ultimate truth or
lie. It is said that he is responsible for the
confounding of human language, apparently to stop
humanity from discovering the secret of
immortality. It is said that his tears were the
first water in the land of the dead, and that they
were shed when Eris refused him as a husband.

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