[Malex]

I began looking over Running Wild and noticed an entry that made me think of the Wraith entry in the Paranormal Animals of Europe book: Nomad (Possessing Wraith) on page 180. Along with the return of Harlequin in the Artifacts campaign it would seem to me that there's a bit of advancement in that part of the Metaplot. Has anyone else noticed other instances in the 4th Edition material that suggests this?

[Mirikon]

Well, whenever you start talking about dragons, you have people mentioning the Fourth World eventually. But other than the artifact rush, no, I haven't seen much in the way of advancement of that part of the metaplot. Still, it would be nice to see more Harlequin. If he's 'taking a side', then that means there's going to be fun and games for all before long.

[Malex]

I did find a direct mention of the Wraith in Street Magic in the Shadow Spirit section.

I've fallen behind on the current books, but any idea of what Harlequin meant by 'taking a side'? There's the schism between Metahumanity and the Dragons which could be a matter of picking a side.

[Mirikon]

Street Legends Supplemental just mentions that he was going to take a side. As for what that means, it is something that has Frosty freaked. As for what that means? Who knows?

[Valashar]

My take on it is that over the past decade or so that she's been his student/confidant/etc., Jane has gotten a good idea that Harlequin is very much a soul-tired warrior that has been dreading the coming need for him to exert himself to his utmost yet again. The story bit at the start of Harlequin's Back with the convo between him and what was possibly one of the Passions gets that across very well. And she knows that if things are at a point where even the one Power that really wants to just relax as long as he can is standing up ready to dust off the armor and start taking names that it's something to worry about. She very likely doesn't really know what that will mean specifically, but her instincts and time spent around such Powers as Harlequin, her father Ehran, and Dunklezhan tell her that it won't be anything fun for anyone involved.

[Mirikon]

I'd tend to agree with that, Valashar. One of the things I've always liked about Harlequin is that he typifies to me what most people would be like if they were granted immortality. After a certain point, having lived through so much destruction and death, and seeing both the highs and lows of civilization, you'd start to get a bit depressed by it all. Another nugget that struck me was a section from Portfolio of a Dragon where Ehran and Lady of the Court were talking, and it sounded as though Dunkelzahn's will had, among other things, shocked Ehran out of his millenia-old rut of scheming, and had shown him a bit of hope.

But that might be the romantic in me talking.

[Patrick Goodman]

That's not a bad interpretation of that, Mirikon, if memory serves me corretly (not guaranteed).

[Mirikon]

The Big D was what I might call a pragmatic idealist. He had lived long enough to know full well the nature of people, and what they would do in certain situations, and he believed that he could structure things, even his death, to bring out the best in those people, to help them achieve a world that was better than it was before. And I think that is what Ehran realized after the reading of the will, and why he decided to throw away his plots to turn his attention to running the DIMR. Dunkelzhan made a believer out of Ehran.

I'd like to see more of Harlequin and Ehran together. While a millenia-old feud isn't going to go away over the course of a decade, I'd like to see whether they might start coming together.

[beowulf_of_wa]

assuming that the feud is done, i would think that harley and ehran get along on some level, if only because they've known each other so long, including MMO gaming?!?

[Stahlseele]

Didn't Harley Shtoink Ehrans Daughter? O.o

[CanRay]

Didn't Harley Shtoink Ehrans Daughter? O.o

Maybe, maybe not.  Frosty isn't the type of slot and tell, apparently.

She's not Kat O'Nine Tales after all.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

For a teacher to allow that sort of thing to happen with one of their students would be the height and depth of dishonor -- and while I can easily believe that Harlequin has accepted dishonor before, even done what is dishonorable in order to achieve an honorable end, I would find it hard to believe that he would violate that necessary barrier in the teacher/student relationship.

Never mind the fact that a sexual relationship alters and weakens the dynamic of the teacher/student relationship.

[CitizenJoe]

For a teacher to allow that sort of thing to happen with one of their students would be the height and depth of dishonor --

This is an entirely 20th century concept. 

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

For a teacher to allow that sort of thing to happen with one of their students would be the height and depth of dishonor --

This is an entirely 20th century concept.

That's amusing.  No, this isn't a purely 20th century concept; this is far older than that, and comes from having as students females of marriageable age whose fathers are perfectly willing to hire duelists to challenge you, or just thugs to beat you to death, if you 'ruin' the daughters they intend on using for making blood ties with other clans, merchant houses, nobles, etc.

You may be thinking of ancient Greece, which possessed strong teacher/pupil sexual dynamics between an older male and a younger student/apprentice, or the occasional 'useless uppity daughter given away as wife/concubine in order to get teacher to teach her brothers for free' found in various pre-industrial societies.  Otherwise, I'm sorry, but you are wrong in your statement.

[Mirikon]

It is not an entirely 20th century concept, but it is one that tends to be related to how liberal or conservative public morality is regarding sex at the time. There are cultures where they would say, "Both consenting adults? Go for it." Even in America, the attitude towards such a relationship would be dependent on what time period you were talking about, and what generation you were talking to. We are, of course, ignoring underage or non-consensual relationships for the purpose of this discussion.