Forbidden Spectra: Lost Suns: 6; 2; 1; 5; 1; Two Successes
Cosmogone...you hated it. Hated what it made you remember. Hated what it made you feel. The peace, the nostalgia. You knew it wasn't real. Any warmth or succor provided by Judgement-Light was a deception, and all Cosmogone was was an even more false copy of Judgement-Light. A lie of a lie.
That said, sometimes lies can be useful. For instance, Cosmogone, for whatever reason, seemed to have a very...soothing effect on the Shadowbeast. It was odd: they seemed to have boundless hatred for everything else so far, but the memory of sunlight seemed to relax the creature, causing its muscles to uncoil and its thrashing to... Well, not STOP, but there was less snapping at you, and you notice the greying on its fur begin to recede somewhat.
Despite it's dark nature, this proved that these creatures had SOME sort of affinity for light as well. You were beginning to develop a hypothesis regarding these creatures...
Gain One Forbidden Spectra
You have gained one point of Research. Every action related to the Shadowbeasts increases this value. Reach five points, and you will be allowed to assemble a Hypothesis about the Shadowbeasts.
____
The Manifestation of Lost Love
It appears as a being of Violant and pain. From a distance, it might resemble you in your cloaked form, swaddled in robes of parabolan red, shuffling about miserably: it was only when someone would approach that they would see the gaping chest wound within, spilling Violant Blood from the cavity where a heart should go, or the eyes, which blazed with unnatural shadow, or, should they get dangerously near, the hands, each palm having at its center a maw. You weren't entirely sure what the symbolism there represented for the last one.
It is a simple creature, ephemeral: complex behavior would require far more investment. Should it try to leave Parabola, it would crumble within the hour, Law or no Law. Still, the wailing should keep most anyone from getting any ideas about approaching, and the thing was powerful enough to destroy most dreampredators that tried to meddle.
It hurt to look at or be near, but it meant that you had at least some protection on the Parabolan side of things.
An Occurrence! You are now employing a Manifestation of Lost Love! This subordinate provides no bonuses at it's current level of development, but it will reduce your odds of being attacked through Parabola.
_____
Writing on the Wall: 2; 4; 3; 3; 1; 1: One Success
Progress is, unfortunately, very slow. Still, slow doesn't mean none at all. In your searches of the chambers, you find more flood-related iconography. What makes this concerning, however, is the other motifs you find. Wells, The Gaols of the Judgements. You were hoping that the symbols were merely metaphorical, since even as ardent a supporter of the Liberation as you were, your service under the Princess meant you had enough knowledge to know that there were very much good reasons for some Wells to exist: as much as it galled you, not all who had enmity for the star gods was your ally. If they weren't mere visual metaphor, however...
You note it isn't a common motif, thankfully, but it was always in concert with floods. You were starting to notice a pattern here: whoever assembled this place was very, very deeply concerned with rising waters.
3 out of 5 Progress to an Antediluvian Glyph.
_____
Turn Three.
You have five Candles!
Mr. Glass, a Revolutionary
Qualities:
Curator: You are not human. You are a locomotive sized chiropteran. You can take on, as needed, a smaller form to go unmolested and perform actions that require a degree of subtlety. But make no mistake: should you genuinely be threatened, you could unfurl to full size, a beast capable of wreaking havoc, and even disguised, your biology incomprehensibly strange.
A Desire For Reflection: Mirrors and Glasswork. The more prismatic, the more lightbending, the more reflective, the better. You instinctively have the urge to hoard these items. In your case, you do so in the form of Galleries: you have a special fondness for displaying your own work.
Never Fading Memory of Lost Love: It had been tattooed onto your brain in Violant, and so you would never be permitted to forget. It was a source of constant heartache, but also, in times of darkness or doubt, strength.
Skills:
Glasswork 4: A lore of manipulation employed by glassblowers, these rites call upon the crystalline nature of glass to manipulate Parabola itself. Bureaucracy 3: Technically correct was the best form of correct. Reflection 3: Ones ability to gaze beneath the surface and examine truths hidden just under ones own reflection. Wordsmithing 1: This talent governs words and ones ability to shape and craft them, forging them into perfectly honed arguments. Fiery Oratory 1: This talent governs fiery speech, intended to inflame and incite. Red Science 1: Arcane sciences governing the interaction between light and law.
Artefacts:
Prismatic Parabolan Mirror: A shimmering mirror containing all the forbidden colors of Parabola. Should you need a particular shade of light, the Prismatic Mirror could produce it.
Grief Tainted Glass Music Box: It had been made as a gift. Your emotions and memories had tainted it, forcing those who listened to its tune to experience the same grief that had once crippled you long ago.
A Compendium of Revolutionary Texts: A gift from your revolutionary contacts, a compendium bound in Violant leather. It's eyes followed you around the room, and its jacket was lined with teeth, but this living book contained a variety of philosophical and economic treatise and manifestos written by some of the greatest thinkers of the Liberation.
Sympathies:
Industry 3: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with workers and overseers alike.
Revolutionaries 1: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with rebels, mutineers, and those who seek to upend the status quo.
Bats 1: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with bats and other lesser chiroptera.
Subordinates:
Manifestation of Lost Love: A piece of yourself you'll never be able to leave behind given false flesh. Reduces chances of getting attacked in Parabola.
+++++++++
Assets:
2 Chiropteran Scouting Reports: A collection of reports by bats. Terribly imprecise, but it isn't unlikely to contain information you can't find elsewhere: Bat's were terribly subtle creatures, after all.
3 Spelunkers Map: A record of your underground explorations.
Dark Hint: Something unspeakable, harvested from the dreams of Shadowbeasts.
Forbidden Spectra: Research data collected by using the Parabolan Color Spectra on the Shadowbeasts.
An Occurrence! You now have Someone is Approaching... 3!
An Occurrence! You now have Fading 3!
Available Projects:
[ ] Interrogate the Bats [Sympathy: Bats]: They knew things. The lay of the land. Geological oddities. Population centers. It would be less reliable and likely less precise than your own scouting, but likely safer, and the bats HAD lived here long enough to likely have a large collection of secrets. This is a IMPOSSIBLY SIMPLE (Threshold 1) test. It will yield a Chiropteran Scouting Report, a LOW VALUE piece of intelligence.
[ ] Perform Your Own Reconnaissance [Curator]: The Judgements light didn't shine here. Hopefully, at least. You should be able to do a personal scouting of the skies outside the temple. More precise and reliable, but dangerous and you were likely to not collect near as much information. Each Candle spent on this generates 1 progress to producing a Vision of the Surface, a HIGH VALUE piece of intelligence. 2/5 Progress!
[ ] Explore the Tunnels [Curator]: They were too small to accommodate your full form, but your lesser one should fit fine, and you were reasonably confident nothing within could harm you, especially now that you've cleared out your unwanted guests. This will provide a Spelunkers Map.
[ ] Lightbreaking Ritual [Glasswork]: This place was far enough from the light for the laws to be weak. You knew of secret rituals and rites that supposedly could sever them entirely. For a space as small as this, it would take much of yourself, but it should be accomplishable using only the Mirror Pool and your Prismatic Mirror. Allows further Glasswork and Red Science projects. 0/???
[ ] The Dreams of Bats [Glasswork]: You had to fortify The Parabolan half of your hideout. To do that, you would need resources: once more, the bats were an option. Their dreams, unawakened as they are, are fleeting and weak, but they would suffice in enough numbers. This is a Difficult (Threshold 3) Glasswork Check. Failure and success will offer rewards pilfered from the dreams of your chiropteran neighbors, though the latter is preferable.
[ ] Memories of Self [Reflection]: You could also use yourself. Painful, exhausting, but you were far sharper than any beast, and your memories would be far more dangerous. This is a Reflection project. 0/5 progress to gaining a Shard of Self, a high quality Reflection item.
[ ] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]: Ignoring the Correspondance in the Mirror Pool room, the Temple was covered in glyphs. Studies made repeated reference to three things: the Shadowbeasts, floods, water, the Bipeds, and most concerningly, WELLS, but you had only scratched the surface. This is a Wordsmith project. 3/5 progress to gaining a Antediluvian Glyph.
[ ] Dissecting the Shadowbeast [Red Science]: It was, perhaps, an unnecessary expenditure of time at this juncture. However, it would provide valuable insight that, when you re-established communications, would serve as a fine bargaining chip. The trick would be finding a method to keep it alive long enough to extract useful information, considering how quickly these beings seemed to decay. This is a RISKY (3 Success Threshold) project, but completing it will transform your Bound Shadowbeast to a Shadowbeast Anatomic Study, a high value piece of intelligence. You will lose the Shadowbeast either way.
[ ] Extract The Shadowbeasts Dreams [Glasswork]: A complete unknown in terms of risk, but it would allow you all sorts of insights into the mind of these beasts and whatever secrets they seemed to hold. This is a RISKY (3 Success Threshold) project: completion grants a Dark Hint or, rarely, a ???. Success or failure dramatically increases Fading.
[ ] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork]: You had a mirror full of the colors of Parabola. You had a creature comprised of what seemed to be blind, unyielding hatred. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to test some things out. Specify which Color of Parabola you intend to expose the Shadowbeast to.
[ ] Hunting the Hunters [Curator]: You had done enough study. Time to go and test these creatures in battle. This is a VERY RISKY Blind Skill Challenge (2 Successes required). Success grants a Lesson Written in Bone, which can be used to increase combat skills.
[ ] Ultimate Spelunking [Spelunkers Maps]: You had done enough underground exploration that you could certainly claim to have developed a bit of a knack for it. Spend three of your Spelunkers Maps: in exchange, gain 1 point in the Cartographer skill, which governs exploration and travel.
[ ] A Destination, Found! [Spelunkers Maps]: You had done enough underground exploration that you could safely say your local region was mostly safe, at least once you bricked up a few tunnels. However, your instincts screamed at you that you were close to discovering something: there had to be something of value in these caverns, after all. Spend three of your Spelunkers Maps: in exchange, gain one random Subterranean Route.
[ ] Explore the Glass City [Reflection]: Who built it? Why? It has symbols of both cats and snakes on it: two bitter enemies. Yet it doesn't fit the architecture of either side: this was not Fingerking construction and it certainly wasn't Cat construction. This is a RISKY (5 Successes) Reflection challenge. Success grants a random History or Glass item.
[X] Plan Maxim 14
-[X] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork] x3
--[X] (First) Violant
--[X] (Then) Apocyan
--[X] (Finally) Gant
-[X] Ultimate Spelunking [Spelunkers Maps] -[X] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]
So here's a wild idea, after spotting the QM's signature. Since we're using the opportunity to squeeze information out of the Grimm... why not commit heavily to it? There doesn't seem to be anything that forbids us from taking the Forbidden Spectra action several times in a single turn.
So here's a wild idea. Since we're using the opportunity to squeeze information out of the Grimm... why not commit heavily to it? There doesn't seem to be anything that forbids us from taking the Forbidden Spectra action several times in a single turn.
[X]Plan: Working From Home
-[X] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork]: You had a mirror full of the colors of Parabola. You had a creature comprised of what seemed to be blind, unyielding hatred. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to test some things out. Specify which Color of Parabola you intend to expose the Shadowbeast to. (Gant) (The color that remains when all else is eaten)
-[X] Dissecting the Shadowbeast [Red Science]:
-[X] Lightbreaking Ritual [Glasswork]:
-[X] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]: Ignoring the Correspondance in the Mirror Pool room, the Temple was covered in glyphs. Studies made repeated reference to three things: the Shadowbeasts, floods, water, the Bipeds, and most concerningly, WELLS, but you had only scratched the surface. This is a Wordsmith project. 3/5 progress to gaining a Antediluvian Glyph. x2
Why is it that whenever I decide to make a plan, someone immediately comes up with a cooler one? Ah, well. Here. Let's finish up with out main projects and explore next turn.
I'm not familiar enough enough with the lore regarding wells to make a comment on it, but I'm hoping it's talking about physical wells. The snippets I know of are connected to extremely unpleasant things.
Also, we need to retrieve our coat for next turns, which means a dissection is in order. I would prefer to get some exploring done, exposing the shadowbeast to further colours isn't a priority. We still don't have much of a clue about our surroundings.
[X] Plan Vascular Exploration
-[X] Dissecting the Shadowbeast [Red Science]: 2
- [X] Ultimate Spelunking [Spelunkers Maps]: 1
- [X] Explore the Tunnels [Curator]: 1
- [X] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]: 1
I'm spending enough candles to get a good chance of a successful disscetion, while also getting the exploration skill and spending a point on looking for further locations. We might want to learn about another place to go, if the room we are in has to be fleed.
also approval voting:
[X] Working from Home.
I would really prefer if our cloak was ready when someone is coming next turn.
The pieces will be revealed over time. There have already been one or two clues scattered throughout the text, though one of those clues lie in the absence of certain words rather than their presence.