Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 olddawg Feb 19, 2007 13:03:08	Hey, could someone with access to VoPA (or a better memory than me), tell me if Haldemar ever communicated back to Alphatia about the discovery of the existence of Heldannic Warbirds before he disappeared into the Hollow World? My memory says there wasn't, but some of the Heldann gaz material seems to make that assumption. Much appreciated, OldDawg
#2 Cthulhudrew Feb 19, 2007 17:00:13	could someone with access to VoPA (or a better memory than me), tell me if Haldemar ever communicated back to Alphatia about the discovery of the existence of Heldannic Warbirds before he disappeared into the Hollow World? I don't think he did either. Going from memory, the first he ever saw of the Warbirds was when the PA exited the skyshield and went into the void. After that, they went to Patera, visited Myoshima, and came back, chasing Rolf on a stolen flying tiger. The PA crashed in the magic-free zone, and was then dragged into the Hollow World, and didn't emerge into the Outer World again until it went through one of the polar openings and Synn's temporal gate, putting it in the present. I suppose he could have arranged for some message to be sent (magically, presumably) during the time after they exited the Skyshield, but before the PA hit the anti-magic zone, but if so, it must have been done "off-camera" as it were. I'm not sure what material you say suggests they knew, but alternatively, perhaps Alphatia already knew about them from other sources, even if their existence was a surprise to Haldemar. There isn't really any reason to assume he had access to all of the Empress' or Grand Council's intelligence, especially as he had been retired from the Imperial Army/Navy for a couple of years (since the war ended in 960, IIRC). Hm... then again, since PA started, IIRC in 963, that probably didn't give the Alphatians all that much time to learn of the Warbirds before Haldemar discovered them either (I don't recall the Heldannic timeline offhand). Haldemar probably did tell Alphatia about the Heldannic outpost in Davania, though, so they might have possibly deduced things from there?
#3 zombiegleemax Feb 20, 2007 2:38:42	Well, actually the officers of the Princess Ark are able to send instant communications to Alphatia and other faraway places during the trip. Here is an example: Eimir 1, (2000AY): I ordered a course to the southwest after dropping the Heldanners off in the wilderness. Hule was a wee bit risky for us now. Talasar used his magical scroll to send a long message to his temple in Starpoint. He requested the message be delivered at once to Her Imperial Majesty. Starpoint acknowledged a few hours later and said we could trust the Temple of Razud. As for myself, I teleported a message to the Maharajah of Putnabad, warning him of a possible invasion from the Great Waste. Even if this sentence refers to 2000AY we must think that the magical powers of Talasar and Haldemar are about the same as when they were magically moved in the future from 1965AY. So we must think that the Alphatian court knows in real time what happens to the Princess Ark, until the ship exits the skyshield. By this time, Haldemar already knows about the Heldannic skyships (even if he hadn't already seen them), because he reads this information in Herr Rolf's mind, 3 bays before entering into the funnel and exiting the skyshield: Eimir 3, 1965:... I learned that he is an officer of the Heldannic Order, as I suspected—but he left his citadel on a flying ship! So they do have such ships here, after all! His original mission had something to do with the stars. Then his ship was attacked by the N'djatwas, and he was captured. There is a recurring vision of his ship spiraling away from him into the sky. That annoys me greatly, as I cannot not find a clear explanation for it. The princess Ark enters into the void in Eimir 6, 1965. During these three days it is possible that the Imperial Court was informed about the existance of the Heldannic skyships. Moreover, we must think that every piece of information collected before the Princess Ark entered the void had already been transmitted to Alphatia. That means that Alphatia knows about the Jungle Coast, Cestia, Oceania, Varellya and the N'djatwaland (and the titans, and the horrbile monsters) on from 1965AY. ;)
#4 agathokles Feb 20, 2007 3:45:47	Even if this sentence refers to 2000AY we must think that the magical powers of Talasar and Haldemar are about the same as when they were magically moved in the future from 1965AY. Clearly, they are using a pair of Scrolls of Communication, one of which is in the Temple of Razud and the other is onboard. So it's not their personal powers, just a magic item -- which of course they might have had from the beginning, or they might have picked up when they came back to Alphatia. GP
#5 zombiegleemax Feb 21, 2007 9:56:12	Hi, I was assuming that Heldemar hadn't contacted the Alphatian mainland before 1000 AC. If any of the material contradicts that then it's a mistake on my part - feel free to change as necessary. Where possible I made sure to allow for the fact that Alphatia wouldn't find out until just after the Gaz started. LJ.
#6 olddawg Feb 21, 2007 11:25:40	Yeah, thanks LJ, that was my impression/desire too. -OldDawg
#7 Cthulhudrew Feb 21, 2007 13:24:58	I didn't think to check it until just now, but a good place to look would be the conversation between Haldemar and Eriadna when he returns in 2000 AY. IIRC, she mentions their sudden disappearance, which seems to indicate that they had been in contact up until that point, and she alludes to something along the lines of the knowledge of Wulf/Rolf's identity (and/or the Heldanners) that would have been useful for them to know. I'll try and remember to check it when I get home.