PALISADE 42: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4
Friends at the Table22 Maalis 2024

PALISADE 42: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4

This episode carries content warnings for discussion of death, imprisonment, slavery, medical experimentation, and mind control.

In the depths of the Temple of the Threshold, a moment passes, a hero dies, and the world begins to change. But Thisbe, Cori, and Brnine—standing in the heart of Exanceaster March's most advanced research facility—don't know that yet. But they do hear it coming.

A mechanical whine in the air is about to become something else. Unfinished plans will be pushed into action. Tomorrow will come, faster for some than others. And life on Palisade will change forever.

This week on PALISADE: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4

Moon river / wider than a mile / I'm crossing you in style some day

Dossier People

Telford Stare (he/they): One of several foremen tied to the Lone Marble Group's contractor operations division.

Crysanth Kesh (she/her): Mother of Clementine (a.k.a. The Witch in Glass). Once, third in line to the throne of Kesh and de facto leader of the Curtain of Divinity, the predecessor to the Bilateral Intelligence Service. Now dead.

Organizations

The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade. Developed the Altar, the predominant war machine of the current era.

The Lone Marble Group: Built around a single artifact recovered from an Advent facility, this Frontier Syndicate subsidiary develops the future of Bilat war machinery.

The Church of Received Asterism: The most widely practiced faith in the galaxy, and one of the earliest major organizations in the Divine Principality, created at the beginning of the Miraculous Millenium, over 3000 years ago. Teaches that Divines, the immortal machines and mechs that helped establish the Principality's hold on the galaxy, reflect the best aspects of the state itself. The divine Strength, in other words, is like a living flag of the Principality's own strength. Organized as a central church, led by a religious leader named a "Cycle," whose will is enacted across the Principality by their many "Songs," who rule worlds, star systems, or sometimes entire constellations.

The Church of Progressive Asterism: Created as the teachings of the prophet Logos Kantel grew in popularity 1000 years ago, and made a secondary state religion in order to prevent a large schism. Teaches that Divines are true embodiments of their names, and that the citizens and states of the Principality should look to them as guiding stars. The Divine Strength, in other words, is a reflection of strength itself, or maybe "god's strength," and we should aspire to make our strength look like the divine's. Unlike Received Asterism, there is no single central church, but hundreds of smaller sects, schools, and cults, each devoted to individual Divines, grouped sub-pantheons, or otherwise adjusted beliefs.

The New Asterism: What was once a schism between Received and Progressive Asterism has now been healed by the false prophet Gur Sevraq (he/they), or at least someone in his name and face. The New Asterism claims that to be a citizen of the Principality is to have an obligation to "better the world," in the sense that one invests in property or in the way that a settler "rehabilitates" or "improves" the places they claim by violence. If Received Asterism places virtue in the state and Progressive Asterism places it in the Divines, the New Asterism places it in the Principality's mythologized point of origin: The Twilight Mirage.

Fabreal Duchy: When the Divine Principality left Palisade nearly 5,000 years ago, they left behind a Duke and his barons as caretakers. In the generations that followed, they ruled as petty tyrants, creating Delegates as their slaves, remaking their bodies into glass and oil, and extending their reach across Palisade's continents. Though they officially report to their handlers in Stel Kesh, recently they have begun to wonder if things were better before the Principality's return to Palisade.

The Divine Collaborate: A successor state to the once vast Autonomous Diaspora, the Divine Collaborate wsa an eternally ad-hoc and temporary alliance of Divines, their pilots, and those under their protection. Defeated by the Divine Principality at the climax of the Divine Clash. In her original home timeline, Perennial belonged to some version of the Collaborate.

Places

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Temple of the Threshold: Built at the center of a massive bridge that crosses the Diadem, this serves as the home of New Asterism and its false prophet,

The Twilight Mirage: Created over 5000 years ago by what was then the Divine Empyrean in an effort to protect the Divine Fleet, of which they were a member. The Mirage is a false nebula that obscures the position of its inhabitants both visually and by distorting time and space. Inside, there is now a vibrant and peaceful culture that spans eight planets, orbiting a dark and living Divine sun.

Objects

FS-N Dais: One of the Altars competing in the tournament, piltoed by Zjenta Zjarule (she/they). Utilizes a special glass originally from the Twilight Mirage.

AdArm Jury: The Jury is the future of AdArm machines. As the first design which fully moves beyond the platforms of the previous generation, it's a startling diversion from the bulky and boxy designs that the company is known for. In fact, the actual "unit" is only the cockpit, around which the rest of the Jury forms using concentrated Perennial Wave Material (PWM). Gone is the old LCD "eye," replaced by a full pixel "face" that can send complex, laser-based communications silently to any other AdArm unit that can see it, as well as display iconographic messages to anyone nearby. A close study of the machine's curved and ovaline elements suggests that it has much in common with the Motion's Demiurgos design that AdArm salvaged as it does with the company's previous designs…

AdArm Cast: This surveillance hollow, mostly used by Stel Nideo in the pre-Kalmeria Era, features angelic (and grotesque) features and focuses on observation, surveilliance, and communications.

EDICT System: The Electronic Divine Interface and Control Technology System was originally deployed during the Divine Clash, over 2400 years ago. Requires a great deal of power to activate, and needs to be transported by multiple large trucks, but when it is used, it can badly disrupt Divine activity--at least most of the time. There are many theories as to which Divines are affected and why, with many believing it is determined by provenance or era of Divine, some internal system of the EDICT itself, or even the current condition of the Perennial Wave.

Divines

The Divine Future (they/them, it/its): An ancient divine, dating back to the second major war in the Golden Branch star sector. Exists in the form of golden orb slightly larger than a softball or bocce ball, which can either be carried by or hover around its Elect. Historically, it has been bidden to share its unparalleled perspective on the hopes and dreams of its chosen (and the endless vigor with which to pursue those goals).

The Divine Resonance (it/its): The watchful guardian, doting caregiver, and ardent supporter of Nideo's colonial efforts on Palisade.

The Divine Integrity (it/its): Sometimes appearing as an articulated staff or a metallic spine, Integrity integrates itself into its chosen user. Once the two are connected, Integrity becomes a powerful exoskeleton, and supports its user in matters of military and morale. Until being assassinated by Brnine, Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, was the elect of Integrity. Now, it has found a new home in Thisbe.

The Divine Motion (she/her): One of the founding members of the Pact, the necromantic Apostolosian divine once led its infamous retinue, the Black Century, on Partizan. They were defeated and dispersed, turned into part of Kalmeria, during Operation Shackled Sun.

The Divine Opposition: One of many divines detained and experimented on by the nascent Divine Principality thousands of years ago, eventually becoming a source for the Fabreal Duchy's Delegates.

Mysteries

Axioms: Once, these beings were made by a so-called "Post-Divine" as embodiments of particular ideals, supposedly detached from mortal perspective or subjectivity. Today, the vast majority of them are the emanation of one woman's ideals, given perfect, violent form.

Ebullience (it/its): An axiom retrieved by the Lone Marble Group. It holds a rounded, liquid metal form and moves with impossible to exhaust energy.

Perennial (she/her): The Principality's so-called 'adversary,' who lives at the center of the galaxy and whose chaotic whims spread through her "Perennial Wave," an ever-present nanoparticle that has bonded with elements of Autonomy Itself and the Divine Motion to create Kalmeria.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, chocoube, Daniel Laloggia, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, fen, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, and weakmint for their support

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG.

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

Jaksot(523)

Winter in Hieron 02: A Museum in the Distance

Winter in Hieron 02: A Museum in the Distance

Has the news reached you, friend? A group of merchants form Rosemerrow told me today that a new wing to the Old Museum in Westshore-Upon-Sea is opening next month. (How I wish we could walk its halls and debate the merits of its exhibits—but ah, it's more than snow that separates us these days.) So instead, let me ask you a question, dearest Arrell… The Creed of Samothes is clear that Truth is a reflection of His Holy Light, and should be pursued above all else. Yet I recall from our early lessons that you hold a case for falsehood, too. 'Even His Sun,' you told me 'is a well-meaning deceit, as it appears above us, celestial, yet was built from (and some say, remains in) the ground itself." I will not open old wounds—I do not want you to convince me of this heresy—I only wonder: Do you still believe it? Yours, always, in heedless faith… This week on Winter in Hieron: A Museum in the Distance Alyosha, in your ardor (for me or Samothes, who can say), you have misremembered my lesson. I never said that a false history was preferable. I simply said that all histories are false, and that it was our duty to choose the ones that suit us best. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Nick Scratch (@drevilbones) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) and Austin Walker Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

28 Marras 20161h 29min

Winter in Hieron 01: An Arrow Let Loose

Winter in Hieron 01: An Arrow Let Loose

In the early days of the New Archives, the philosopher and historian Krent Kava wrote that the first sign that Hieron was on its way to recovery was the return of roadways that connect coast to heartland, city center to distant university. "There," he wrote, "Is civilization back again, drawn together by the eternal will of survivors trying to connect, one to another." Some of the roads, he reminds us, were highways repaired from the days before, and others were wholly new--as our times require paths that the past did not. It is noble thought, of course. But we know now that by the time Scholar Kava wrote those words, Hieron's road system had been rebuilt and destroyed dozens of times by fledgling--and eventually, failed--settlements. The truth, friend, is that our roads neither reflect nor protect any civility we've found. They are merely our footprints turned to stone and gravel, waiting to be covered and lost by the coming snow. This week on Winter in Hieron: An Arrow Let Loose Perhaps, Arrell, perhaps. But we walk them anyway, don't we? Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Tebbel (@atebbel), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

18 Marras 20161h 39min

Hieron: The Months of Autumn Pt 2

Hieron: The Months of Autumn Pt 2

For a long, long time in Hieron, it was autumn. Crisp branches snapped under foot. Still lakes caught the reds, yellows, and oranges of the leaves overhead, stuck eternally between life and death. The waves taunted children and elder alike, a step too cold for all but the bravest of swimmers. And there was laughter, and planning, and good food. People would stand around bonfires--out on the beaches of Velas, in the communal pits of Rosemerrow--and trade stories. Old stories, the kind passed down from parent to child. They bent in new directions with each telling, but they never fully changed. They were trust worthy and familiar, but like a poor cider, dead on the tongue. But it is winter now. Snow has arived in Velas, and it is time for cold tongues to learn new words. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Lee Swan (@Swandre3000), Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

12 Marras 20161h 18min

Hieron: The Months of Autumn Pt 1

Hieron: The Months of Autumn Pt 1

And so the season turns, and the cold winds sweep in, and candles and fires and stoves are lit. Black branches against a white sky. There are more stories to tell, though. There are always more stories to tell. It's not long before we meet our old friends again, I promise. They're waiting, right now. They're kicking the frost off their boots, cold fingers on metal buckles. Before we find them again, though, there is an old story to tell. Perhaps you've heard it before. Perhaps this is the first time you've heard it. There's a small island, you see? Waves crash around its rocky coast. There is the silhouette of a tower. It's better, don't you think, to bring everybody up to speed? Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Lee Swan (@Swandre3000), Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Jack de Quidt Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

3 Marras 201650min

A Message From Ali

A Message From Ali

Hey everyone! Here we are again with no new episode. We really really hate doing this and promise that there will some real and true and good content for you here next week. Marielda ended at the best and worst time because someone is launching a new website and that's taking a ton of time, so at least this interruption is happening inbetween seasons but we still don't feel good about it. We're really sorry! We'll still be doing season 1 recaps the next two weeks. They're going to be very, very good but we just need a little more time to make them perfect. If you're looking for something to tide you over for the next week Austin was a player (I know) on a new episode of RollPlay: One Shot GM'd by Adam Koebel (author of Dungeon World) and with a bunch of other cool people. Thank you so much for understanding, thank you for your patience, thank you for all of your support. See you on the other side! ~Ali Acampora (@ali_west) on behalf of the whole cast: Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Andi Clare(@captaintrash), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Lee Swan (@Swandre3000), Art Tebbel (@atebbel) and our host Austin Walker (@austin_walker) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

27 Loka 20165min

A Message From Austin

A Message From Austin

Hey everyone! Sorry for taking a week off, but at least it gives us an opportunity to speak to the audience directly. Thank you so much for all of support for the show and especially for Marielda. While I have you, let me go over all the places you can find Friends at the Table: www.friendsatthetable.net www.twitter.com/friends_table www.facebook.com/friendsatthetable And as for the shoutouts Austin made, the Friends at the Table forum is fatt.proboards.com and Rho's art can be found over at their twitter, twitter.com/eefusi. That's all for today. Thank you again and have a good week! ~Ali Acampora (@ali_west) on behalf of the whole cast: Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Sylvia Clare (@captaintrash), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Lee Swan (@Swandre3000), Art Tebbel (@atebbel) and our host Austin Walker (@austin_walker) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

20 Loka 20167min

Marielda 14: The Killing of the King-God Samothes By The Traitor Prince Maelgwyn Pt. 4

Marielda 14: The Killing of the King-God Samothes By The Traitor Prince Maelgwyn Pt. 4

FOREWORD to The Illustrated Concordance of Marielda, Second Printing No chronology will be observed here, nor could one ever be observed—Marielda resists sequential arrangement. Where other atlases and dictionaries seek to duplicate the facts of a culture, treat this text instead as a replica of Marielda's constant reconfiguration. Thus, the reader should use this concordance as if they were wandering through a city street on the afternoon of an empty day. Follow the the capricious arcs of the written characters from one entry to the next, like the scent of an unseen cafe in the distance. Or, move from entry to entry with the speed and purpose of a busy hour of errands. But understand that neither of these methods will bring you to more truth than any other. As with a mirror, you will get out of this text only as much as you put into it. But if I may make one recommendation: Begin with the entry on dreams. Though there may be no worse place to begin than the reveries of those poor citizens, there is neither any better. -Semiotician Emeritus Uklan Tel, Ed. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

14 Loka 20162h 1min

Marielda 13: The Killing of the King-God Samothes By The Traitor Prince Maelgwyn Pt. 3

Marielda 13: The Killing of the King-God Samothes By The Traitor Prince Maelgwyn Pt. 3

It was strange. Every morning you'd see The Black Slacks walking to work. By this point, the air would crackle around them, thick with rumours of another potential strike, another march. They'd walk in groups, or in pairs, or alone. Hands in pockets. They whistled. But not that morning. At first, it was as if they'd vanished. District management began to panic, sending runners to nearby factories to confirm reports: The Black Slacks had disappeared. No. Not disappeared. In The Southern Bucket, a woman in plain clothes finished her drink and stood up, and, with the brilliant rush of the sound of the chairs on stone, the rest of the pub stood up with her. They poured out into the street and mingled with the other citizens and on the other side of town a storehouse containing sleeping pala-din exploded. Men and women dessed like anybody else stepped out of the crowd and moved quickly to barricade Maddermarket Street. Another pala-din storehouse became flame, and the flow of foot traffic in the city suddenly became a march. The Black Slacks were everywhere, and the high sun pressed down, and today was the day. Today was the day. This week on Friends at the Table: The Killing of the King-God Samothes By The Traitor Prince Maelgwyn Pt. 3 Don't let me doubt you Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Jack de Quidt Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

6 Loka 20161h 59min

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