[RowanTheFox]

For some reason my brain went on a tangent about one of the IE's fighting in the European theater during WWII, because frag it, why not? It's my home too! Then 70 years later, showing up at a reunion and one of the old veterans they fought alongside walks up to them and says "You look so much like your grandfather."

Or the Immortals running safe houses to help innocents escape the witch hunts. Or (eep) actually hunting witches.

Or Harlequin having a brief but passionate fling with Mademoiselle Maupin. (Maybe he's the reason she was so amazingly talented with a rapier?)

I do wonder what the IE's were up to during the Fifth World. Any theories, or just amusing/interesting ideas?

[Marzhin]

For some reason my brain went on a tangent about one of the IE's fighting in the European theater during WWII, because frag it, why not? It's my home too! Then 70 years later, showing up at a reunion and one of the old veterans they fought alongside walks up to them and says "You look so much like your grandfather."

As revealed by Aina in Worlds without End, Alachia was a high-ranking Nazi, possibly even the puppetmaster behind the whole thing. Food for thought...

[RowanTheFox]

For some reason my brain went on a tangent about one of the IE's fighting in the European theater during WWII, because frag it, why not? It's my home too! Then 70 years later, showing up at a reunion and one of the old veterans they fought alongside walks up to them and says "You look so much like your grandfather."

As revealed by Aina in Worlds without End, Alachia was a high-ranking Nazi, possibly even the puppetmaster behind the whole thing. Food for thought...

-shudders- Why is that not surprising? I get a lot of satisfaction out of killing her violently in one of my fanfics (Blood Feud). I'm genuinely surprised no one has at least tried to off her yet, AFAIK.

[Rosa]

Alachia was Eva Braun, she's also shown as having been or atleast taken over the identity of Queen Elizabeth the first of England, Harlequin may have been Richard the Lionheart.

But to be honest i doubt many of them bothered with being "famous" people, however they may have known or been around famous people. Ehran alludes to having met and talked to Leonardo da Vinci and one of the egyptian pharaohs.

But there's no question that some of them have from time to time involved themselves in the World and it's people. Worlds without end shows how Aina involves herself in curing a plaguestricken woman in Elizabethan England only to find herself accused of witchcraft and thrown in the Tower, where she then meets Alachia/Elizabeth.

So short answer: They were involved from time to time in whatever Struck their fancy, i doubt any of them stayed involved the Whole time though.

You have to remember that to most of them, the 5th World was likely a pale shadow of the World they were born into, and they themselves also a pale shadow of their former selves. And when you have seen so much as they have, it quite likely takes a LOT for them to become interested or morally outraged enough to involve themselves in anything. Taking the long view also sometimes Means ignoring current events that the rest of the World is convinced is the most important thing ever.

So essentially everytime you wanna involve any of the "old" immortals, you have to ask yourself "why would they care?" Wars? They've seen hundreds if not thousands, diseases? Same Again, Despots and oppression? Same Again Again....and so on. Most people usually don't consider how exhausting and many times downright boring it would be to actually be immortal. No Wonder they have to play intricate games with each other to stay interested.

[lokii]

As revealed by Aina in Worlds without End, Alachia was a high-ranking Nazi, possibly even the puppetmaster behind the whole thing. Food for thought...

Arguably the girlfriend of a high-ranking Nazi.

Alachia was Eva Braun,

Probably not. In Worlds without End Aina sees Alachia in footage of a motorcade scene typical of the time. She was not with Adolf Hitler but rode in a car in the rear embraced by another man. At the time Aina saw her, which is after the war had started, but also in the years before that Braun would not have been publicly affectionate in this way with someone besides Hitler, certainly not while riding in the same motorcade. Of course the footage could be even older, but there is really no other suggestion that I'm aware of, that she was Eva Braun.

By the way, I always had the impression that other books for example The Blood Wood portray Alachia far more sympathetic than the Aina trilogy.

[Kesendeja]

Not really, in the Blood Wood even before the ritual of thorns she would coerce her former lovers into committing suicide, and her arrogance with her superiority led directly to the mess that required the thorns. She wouldn't even entertain the idea of another way of surviving even though her advisers tried telling her that a wooden kaer wouldn't work, it was the "elven" way.

There's alot more, but I'm away from my book right now.

[RowanTheFox]

Alachia was Eva Braun, she's also shown as having been or atleast taken over the identity of Queen Elizabeth the first of England, Harlequin may have been Richard the Lionheart.

But to be honest i doubt many of them bothered with being "famous" people, however they may have known or been around famous people. Ehran alludes to having met and talked to Leonardo da Vinci and one of the egyptian pharaohs.

But there's no question that some of them have from time to time involved themselves in the World and it's people. Worlds without end shows how Aina involves herself in curing a plaguestricken woman in Elizabethan England only to find herself accused of witchcraft and thrown in the Tower, where she then meets Alachia/Elizabeth.

So short answer: They were involved from time to time in whatever Struck their fancy, i doubt any of them stayed involved the Whole time though.

You have to remember that to most of them, the 5th World was likely a pale shadow of the World they were born into, and they themselves also a pale shadow of their former selves. And when you have seen so much as they have, it quite likely takes a LOT for them to become interested or morally outraged enough to involve themselves in anything. Taking the long view also sometimes Means ignoring current events that the rest of the World is convinced is the most important thing ever.

So essentially everytime you wanna involve any of the "old" immortals, you have to ask yourself "why would they care?" Wars? They've seen hundreds if not thousands, diseases? Same Again, Despots and oppression? Same Again Again....and so on. Most people usually don't consider how exhausting and many times downright boring it would be to actually be immortal. No Wonder they have to play intricate games with each other to stay interested.

Boredom is why I think they would have gotten involved with various wars and important events. Not because they care, per say, but just because they're bored, Although it would most likely be behind the scenes.

[Rosa]

The reason i went with Eva Braun is because..1) Alachia would not be happy just being the girlfriend of some mid level Nazi, she goes for the top everytime and 2) her physical description could easily fit with Eva Braun and yes she isn't named as Eva Braun, but Aina strongly implies that she is very very close to the power in Nazi germany. Anyway the various scenes are of course supposed to show that Alachia is drawn to temporal power if not addicted to it and that she has very Little in the way of a moral Compass or at least a moral Compass very unlike anything we would recognize as normal, contrasted to Aina WHO has no interest in temporal power and a very strong moral Compass.

[RowanTheFox]

Not really, in the Blood Wood even before the ritual of thorns she would coerce her former lovers into committing suicide, and her arrogance with her superiority led directly to the mess that required the thorns. She wouldn't even entertain the idea of another way of surviving even though her advisers tried telling her that a wooden kaer wouldn't work, it was the "elven" way.

There's alot more, but I'm away from my book right now.

Another reason why I'm surprised no one has offed her yet. Alachia actually killed all of those advisers and banished their children from the Blood Wood. One of those children was none other than Aina, who then fell in with a Nethermancer, and then accidentally caught Yrsgrathe's eye. I think we all know what happened after that.

So, in effect, every bad thing that happened to Aina is Alachia's fault.

[Rosa]

The reason no one has offed her yet is twofold i think. First of all the immortals have quite strict rules on how and when and why you can off another immortal, otherwise it would be Chaos free for all, thats the reason for Harlequin going through the Whole Chal'Han ritual.

Second Alachia is extremely powerful,possibly on par with or even more powerful than Harlequin and Ehran. She is older than they are ( some have actually theorized that she might be from the second World, not the 4th ), she clearly knows some very ancient and very powerful magic that the others do not ( see bloodwood, it's called "naming" ). Have you never wondered why she seems to be able to do all these Things and still be around? Master manipulator, knows a lot of dirty secrets about more or less all the others quite likely and very very powerful in her own right.

[Crimsondude]

We've been able to retcon and play with a few things. but there's no way in Hell that anyone involved with Shadowrun would deny the people truly responsible for the Third Reich agency for being some of history's greatest villains. Just like whatever else happened in WWE, there's no way Alachia was actually Queen Elizabeth I.

It's bad enough Leonardo the IE may have been the real Leonardo da Vinci. When Harlequin fought at one of the battles of Vienna, he had the sense not to assume the identity of a major figure.

[Rosa]

You know i'm actually personally pleased about that, i've never been too happy with denying history it's heroes and villains because some immortal got bored for awhile and decided to go have fun. If they had actually been any of history's famous people i would in my personal game require a damn good explanation for why they did that.

[RowanTheFox]

The reason no one has offed her yet is twofold i think. First of all the immortals have quite strict rules on how and when and why you can off another immortal, otherwise it would be Chaos free for all, thats the reason for Harlequin going through the Whole Chal'Han ritual.

Second Alachia is extremely powerful,possibly on par with or even more powerful than Harlequin and Ehran. She is older than they are ( some have actually theorized that she might be from the second World, not the 4th ), she clearly knows some very ancient and very powerful magic that the others do not ( see bloodwood, it's called "naming" ). Have you never wondered why she seems to be able to do all these Things and still be around? Master manipulator, knows a lot of dirty secrets about more or less all the others quite likely and very very powerful in her own right.

I know about naming, and in fact the main character of my stories possesses a thread item (it's not ever actually called that). A rebuked Chal'han is what actually starts Blood Feud.

[Rosa]

Well they seem to have some sort of understanding to not go after each other in an free for all way, kinda like when Dunkelzahn died and the dragons used the ritual way to decide which of them were preeminent amongst them. It may be as simple as a simple recognition that if there was no rules then the potential for destruction would be on such a level that it would eventually lead attention to all of them and that would threaten all of them.

[Rosa]

Also a thread item is not naming, not necessarily, many items in ED require that you weave threads to them but they have no specific names necesarrily. A pattern item is closer to naming, since it has become integral to your pattern and have often acquired a name in the process, also not only items but also for example Places can acquire true patterns and you can weave threads to those as well. But for those it isn't so much a conscious effort on your behalf that leads to the creation of a pattern item but more circumstances. Alachia however can do it on purpose, at least with her spells if i remember correctly.