WotI across the Multiverse: Planescape perspective
by RipvanwormerIn the 114th year of Factol Hashkar's reign the first archon casualty of the war, all three heads bleeding immortal ichor, stumbled into the City of Doors. She did not cause much of a commotion at first, but as the news filtered through the streets that Immortals were warring, even Sigil's jaded populace took notice. There are few things that excite as much interest in the Lady's Cage than a philosophical debate, and it wasn't long before this debate spread through the city's factions.
The Doomguard, at the time, opted for a neutral stance, and in this they mimicked the position of the Brotherhood of the Shadow among the Immortals' ranks. Factol Vashar was a member of the "sinker" or "guardian" camp that maintained the force of entropy was occurring on schedule and didn't require active intervention on the faction's part. While the faction approved of the drain of magic caused by the use of the Radiance in Glantri, they decided that it wasn't in the faction's interests to declare a favorite in the struggle. The war itself served Entropy too, and the longer it lasted, the more Entropy would be served.
The Fated, led by Factol Emma Oakwright, stood solidly behind the right of the Fellowship of the Star to wrest the secrets of the Radiance if they could. The Fated at the time were more a faction of dour tax collectors than the flamboyant heroes they would think of themselves as during the reign of Rowan Darkwood, but younger Fated were energized by the idea of ripping magic and secrets from a planet-shaking artifact, and many volunteered to fight in the armies of Asterius, Rathanos, and Korotiku.
The Ring-Givers, a powerful sect based in Ysgard, thought that the whole affair had been handled very poorly by Rad, who ought to have first put Ixion in his debt through the giving of great gifts. The sect was more or less split on the question of whether the Radiance's draining of magic represented the world of Mystara giving away its magic in exchange for secrets, or if it represented the mages of Glantri taking without giving, with predictably awful results. A raid on the realm of the giant Hymir to steal his cauldron and a raid on the orchard of Idun eventually turned the Ring-Givers firmly away from the side of the Fellowship.
The Fraternity of Order sympathized with the Fellowship of the Stars' desire to gain knowledge of the working of the Radiance, but they could not accept Rad's blatant defiance of the edict of the Council of Mystara. They sided with the Ring of Fire, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
The Harmonium, always on the side of order and authority, sided enthusiastically with the Ring of Fire and even dispatched troops to help aid the servants of Ixion, Valerias, Ilsundal, and Alphatia in their battles with the Fellowship of the Stars. With the Mercykillers, they lobbied the Hall of Speakers in Sigil to outlaw support of the Fellowship of the Stars within the city, though this failed.
The Mercykillers also sided with their Harmonium and Guvner allies against the Fellowship of the Star. On some planes they enthusiastically slaughtered supporters of the Fellowship for crimes against the natural order. In Sigil itself, however, Factol Mallin urged restraint.
The Xaositects and Revolutionary League opposed the Ring of Fire on principle, on the grounds that they represented stagnation and authority.
The Sensates supported the Fellowship of the Star on the grounds that they were striving to uncover new experiences and states of being. The Sensates had no wish to see the Immortals remain stagnant forever, for all that it pained some of them to oppose Valerias, patron of beauty.
The Believers of the Source enthusiastically supported the Fellowship of the Star, since finding new paths to Immortality were among the faction's primary goals.
The Sign of One had as many views on the subject as it had members, but primarily they supported the Fellowship of the Star, suspecting that uncovering secrets was a good thing for the creator of the multiverse to do. Others protested that it was hardly necessary, since they already knew everything and were probably essentially Old Ones themselves, and all this rebellion business was giving them a headache. On the other hand, if there was only one creator of the multiverse, Rad might well be him. Although it might be Ixion instead. Anyway, if Mystara did lose its magic, the Sign of One faction could probably recreate it.
The Transcendent Order instinctively reacted against the disharmony generated by the Radiance, but couldn't explain why.
The Athar opposed all of the Immortals on principle, believing them to be frauds who fed off mortal worship but did not deserve it, and cited the destruction caused by the war as proof that everyone would be better off without the Immortals and their squabbles. They generally supported the right of Glantrian mages to experiment in areas that some Immortals would have preferred to leave undisturbed, but blamed the Fellowship of the Star as much as the Ring of Fire for meddling with subjects best left to the discretion of mortals. Surely, Rad was at fault for encouraging more use of the Radiance than would otherwise be done, just as Ixion was at fault for daring to act as if he had the authority to tell mortals what to do.
The Free League, Dustmen, and Bleak Cabal were all neutral. The Free League concentrated on not being drawn into the conflict, while the Dustmen and Bleakers saw the conflict as ultimately meaningless. What did it matter if Mystara lost its magic or Rad learned about the nature of the Old Ones if everyone was dead or reality itself was madness?
The Incantifers, a tiny, secretive sect of magic-eaters who had been a powerful faction 300 years before, were horrified at the idea of magic being drained from an entire world, as they feared it would make it harder for them to find the magic they needed to survive. The irony that the Fellowship of the Star was potentially doing to a planet what they did on a smaller scale with magic items entirely escaped them.
The relatively small number of Glantrians and Alphatians in Sigil were appalled by the idea that their world might lose its magic, and they returned to Mystara in an attempt to influence the course of events against the Fellowship of the Star. Their protests and claims of special knowledge into Immortal affairs went mostly unheeded.