Are O-Chul and Redcloak still Cloistered?

[Reboot]

I brought this up in the #1200 thread, but I think it may be worth spinning out...

It is notable, in that context of the strip, that Durkon doesn't even CONSIDER Sending to O-Chul - even if Lien is dead or unconscious, he may not be. Do they know for sure that O-Chul *is* still Cloistered, perhaps? We know Cloister has a "one week per caster level" duration, Xykon was renewing it "every few weeks", so O-Chul was going to be "unfindable for months" after his MITD "ESCAPE".

And he may have stopped after the "Darth V" attack, since he went off to build his astral fortress, but at the very least Redcloak will have been Cloistered at the same time as O-Chul last was. So if O-Chul was still Cloistered, Redcloak should be too.

Anyone figured out how long it's been since Darth V? If it's less than six months, they probably should still be Cloistered...

[Rogar Demonblud]

It's been a few weeks. If it was six months, Belkar would be very dead.

[TooSoon]

It's been a few weeks. If it was six months, Belkar would be very dead.

Which means Duckon wouldn't have been able to send to RC anyway, regardless of whether he wanted to.

[understatement]

Yes.

I'm surprised Haley didn't say bring it up (then again, she probably wasn't expecting to contact someone Cloistered.)

[hroþila]

I wouldn't be surprised if they all forgot about this obscure plot minutia.

[dancrilis]

It is possible that Xykon's spell allows for those outside the cloister effect to be contacted, after all he was called back here while presumedly protected by it.
Now maybe there was some calling/summoning spell that brought him in, but I always read it as more they reached out to let him know and be brought himself back (i.e they called him back via the equivalent of a phone call).

[understatement]

Cloistered people can still contact/Send to those non-Cloistered.

Although here Jirix is able to receive a Sending from one of the hobgoblin clerics, which presumably means Cloistered people can contact each other. And here Redcloak says he would "contact Jirix" when Girard's Gate is under control, yet here (during the Gobbotopia speech) RC mentions he probably won't be able to return any Sendings back to Jirix.

So it's possible the Cloister has worn off in the time the Azure City Resistance was crushed, which meant Tsukiko's analysis was incorrect ("[O-Chul] will be unfindable for months") -- but there's also no reason for her to be, since she's pretty good with INT-based parts of magic.

(Also, does this mean Jirix is 7+ level?)

[hroþila]

I took that as "You can Send to me for advice, but I likely won't be able to return [to Gobbotopia to help you with any issues]".

As for how to reconcile all of that, maybe they researched a custom pseudo-Sending spell that's less powerful distance-wise but works within the confines of the cloistered area? This wouldn't explain why Jirix can send to Redcloak, though, unless Xykon actively chose to dispel the effect for some reason before leaving (assuming that can be done). At any rate, I imagine Tsukiko was talking about scrying O-Chul.

[understatement]

Wait...Cloister doesn't affect Xykon, does it? It says it targets "every living creature" -- which means Jirix could be able to contact Xykon. (It also means the Order could scry on him, right?)

Additionally, Jirix was dead when Xykon did the first Cloister (according to the book's commentary, anyhow) so he is able to receive Sendings. (Assuming Redcloak resurrected him just before we see his 'official' appearance in the acid shark thing, and that Xykon had renewed the Cloister before Redcloak resurrected Jirix.)

[Chronos]

I got the impression that Durkon had three Sendings prepared, and that the first one (not shown on screen) was addressed to O-Chul. Roy talks about how they can't be contacted, not she. O-Chul would be the logical choice for first contact, both because he was the leader of that expedition, and because he was the one more likely to survive if calamity had befallen them.

[TooSoon]

Cloistered people can still contact/Send to those non-Cloistered.

Although here Jirix is able to receive a Sending from one of the hobgoblin clerics, which presumably means Cloistered people can contact each other. And here Redcloak says he would "contact Jirix" when Girard's Gate is under control, yet here (during the Gobbotopia speech) RC mentions he probably won't be able to return any Sendings back to Jirix.

So it's possible the Cloister has worn off in the time the Azure City Resistance was crushed, which meant Tsukiko's analysis was incorrect ("[O-Chul] will be unfindable for months") -- but there's also no reason for her to be, since she's pretty good with INT-based parts of magic.

(Also, does this mean Jirix is 7+ level?)

I thought the issue was you can't get sendings outside the cloister, you should still be able to receive them from people who are also within the original range of cloister.

[understatement]

I thought the issue was you can't get sendings outside the cloister, you should still be able to receive them from people who are also within the original range of cloister.

Cloistered people can't get messages/get scried on, and the effect remains until the spell's duration runs out. I think (?) Cloistered people can contact non-Cloistered people, though.

[RatElemental]

It was 16 weeks since the city fell when Haley (and subsequently O-Chul) left, leaving between 5 and probably about 14 weeks before it wore off. Epic spells, especially ones that powerful usually have some exp costs: We know it can't have backlash damage (because you take the damage every round until the spell wears off) or ritual casters. Recasting it every few weeks when it lasts multiple months would be overkill and a waste of Xykon's time and probably xp.

It might just fit the timeline for it to have worn off by now, unless someone can source Xykon mentioning renewing it that often.


I don't think I'd call the thing that catalyzed the entire plot of one of the books "obscure plot minutia" though.

[understatement]

It was 16 weeks since the city fell when Haley (and subsequently O-Chul) left, leaving between 5 and probably about 14 weeks before it wore off. Epic spells, especially ones that powerful usually have some exp costs: We know it can't have backlash damage (because you take the damage every round until the spell wears off) or ritual casters. Recasting it every few weeks when it lasts multiple months would be overkill and a waste of Xykon's time and probably xp.

It might just fit the timeline for it to have worn off by now, unless someone can source Xykon mentioning renewing it that often.

Tsukiko mentions he renews it every few weeks.