The stories may provide context for cultivation. Maybe the ability to bond animal companions is related to the Noah's ark story, for example (the Squire and Knight each had two animals). And the flood or the Second/Third Day of Creation may have inspired Highwater's water powers. Isaac and Abraham provide an obvious sacrifice narrative.
I wonder if it might not actually be the opposite: the Enemy GRANTS the easy psuedocultivation to prevent true cultivaiton. Especially since the psuedocultivation actually seems like it'd encourage cultural stagnation as exactly the current Norse culture.
Plus the whole fame=cultivation thing just plain strikes me as having some artificial source because it's not like the energy is subtracted from the people gossiping about you ... it just appears ex nihlo.
And then there's the question of why the Enemy wants Norse culture in specific to stagnate. Not be destroyed, stagnate and remain unchanging. It calls into question their incentive structure
I wonder if it might not actually be the opposite: the Enemy GRANTS the easy psuedocultivation to prevent true cultivaiton. Especially since the psuedocultivation actually seems like it'd encourage cultural stagnation as exactly the current Norse culture.
Plus the whole fame=cultivation thing just plain strikes me as having some artificial source because it's not like the energy is subtracted from the people gossiping about you ... it just appears ex nihlo.
And then there's the question of why the Enemy wants Norse culture in specific to stagnate. Not be destroyed, stagnate and remain unchanging. It calls into question their incentive structure
I don't think that is universal. Daoist Cultivation is all about trying to become an undying being free from worries, Christian Cultivation accepts that the Soul is Immortal and undying, and that whatever you do in life determines your treatment afterwards. Even Greco-Roman stuff doesn't really involve the Gods or their predecessors dying so much as being subsumed or broken or imprisoned in some fashion.
Norse Mythology doesn't acknowledge that things can't die. Everything can die, and nothing is truly eternal. The mighty might live for much longer, but even a God who's been charmed to be immune to harm has a weakness that can kill them, and does so.
On a low level, that's not a big problem. But taking Norse Mythology to the absolute limit? They're capable of imposing that Mortality on other things. Like Curses, or Monsters, or Gods.
Exactly what an undying Adversary doesn't want to happen.
I wonder if it might not actually be the opposite: the Enemy GRANTS the easy psuedocultivation to prevent true cultivaiton. Especially since the psuedocultivation actually seems like it'd encourage cultural stagnation as exactly the current Norse culture.
Plus the whole fame=cultivation thing just plain strikes me as having some artificial source because it's not like the energy is subtracted from the people gossiping about you ... it just appears ex nihlo.
I don't think so. 'Real' Norse Cultivation still seems to require and make extensive use of Frami, Virthing, and Saemd, and, if we're right, be based on writing your own Saga. Which is to say it's still pretty heavily fame based and utilizes the system we're aware of...just not exclusively or in the same way it is used now.
And then there's the question of why the Enemy wants Norse culture in specific to stagnate. Not be destroyed, stagnate and remain unchanging. It calls into question their incentive structure
This, however, is an excellent question. I still think the idea is to use the Norse as a weapon...the Enemy seems tied to Steel, which is bad for everyone, so while they may be Norse-focused I think they do want to spread the misery.
I definitely think Alectai's 'All Men Die' theory is very plausibly a large part of why it doesn't want Norse culture to advance, but I think the 'use them as a weapon' thing is why it doesn't want them to die out either.
[X] Plan: Seizing Back The Means Of Planning
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] The Neighboring Dwarves, make sure you've got a solid greeting gift ready for them though.
---[X] The Superior Forged Iron Wood-Axe We Made
---[X] 3 Meat-Keeping Sticks
---[X] A Significant Amount of Food and Mead (Equivalent of 12 Food in the old system, plus the Mead)
-[X] (Battle) Go and attack somewhere...
--[X] Attack one of the bandit camps to the East
---[X] It's a known issue in the area--while you're not quite willing to tip your hand to Horra yet, it's not like these ones are a secret either, take your little crew on an enthusiastic walk so you can chip away at Horra's influence and build your reputation in the area. Maybe win some allies or get some extra evidence in the process?
--[X] Stigr
--[X] Discuss runes with him (both those on his bow and using explosive charm on arrows) and start teaching him Hone if he currently lacks it.
-[X] (Rolled)
--[X] Train Kindle-Spinner 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Firebomb-Strike 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Ember-Winged Cloak 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Campfire 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Sickness Sear 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Beaconlight 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train 'Sax' Weaponcraft Skill-Trick 4d6
-[X] (Research) Try to figure out how things work
--[X] Your magical plant now has leaves. They're oily but also from some kind of magical plant so maybe the leaves themselves are useful as well as the oil. Take some time to see what kind of uses you can put the fronds of the Hearthroot to (1d6)
--[X] Sealwood might produce a useful sap, but what could happen if you had _more_ of it? You don't think you had enough of it to grow it conventionally, but what would happen if you planted the twig in your Soul and fed it some Odr? Could you get a magical Sealwood tree of your own? (1d6)
--[X] Bible Study Continues... (1d6)
--[X] You've got a decent quantity of Odr now and a good grasp of how much you can accumulate. While the opportunities to cultivate the flora in your soul are reasonably understood by now, you're curious what could happen if you used it to help fuel a Trick... Like Kindle-Spinner, you've got a pretty good grasp of that now. Try spending 1 Odr to help with this Trick, and the rest with Orthstirr if necessary. (1d6--to be done _after_ we've rolled for training this turn)
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks
--[X] Train Halting Vortex 1d6 x
-[X] (Training) Tricks
--[X] Train Goal-Tell 1d6 x
--[X] Train Cool-Off 1d6 x
--[X] Train Skewer-Flick 1d6 x
--[X] Train 'Mail' Armorcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 x
-[X] (Training) Hamr (61 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr itself 1d6 x
-[X] (Training) Hugr (27 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr itself 1d6 x
--[X] Train Armorcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten) X
--[X] Train Composure (1d6) x
--[X] Train Housecraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten) x
--[X] Train Silver-Tongue (1d6) X
--[X] Train Weaponcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten) X
--[X] Train Wordplay (1d6) x
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (10 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself (1d6) x
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 1 Odr + 5-6 Orthstirr into Hamr (however much orthstirr it will take after the Odr)
---[X] 4 Chop, 4 Defend, 4 Dodge, 4 Glima, 3 Bash, 3 Pierce, 3 Throw, 3 Cut, 3 Labor, 3 Overland (34 total)
--[X] 6 Hugr
---[X] 3 Barb-Tongue, 3 Composure, 5 Housecraft, 3 Management, 4 Scouting, 4 Silver-Tongue, 3 Strategy, 3 Tactics, 4 Wordplay, 5 Wildcraft (36 total)
--[X] 4 Fylgja
---[X] 3 Command
--[X] 1 First Impression
--[X] 189/188 free for tricks (depending on how much Orthstirr we can put into Hamr)
-[X] (Fylgja Capacity)
--[X] Remove Halting Vortex. Kindle Spinner, and Ember-Wing Cloak
--[X] Add Fine Bog Iron Tools
--[X] Add Boulder
--[X] Add Shield
0~0~0
Armorcraft
Silver-Tongue
Weaponcraft
0~0~0 (Kindle-Spinner: 6, 5) 5 Successes. (Firebomb-Strike: 3, 1) 2 Successes. (Ember-Winged Cloak: 3, 6) 4 Successes. (Campfire: 3, 2) 2 Successes. (Sickness Sear: 2, 5) 2 Successes. (Beaconlight: 3, 6) 4 Successes. (Sax Skill-Trick: 3, 4, 4, 3) 4 Successes
...
(Kindle Spinner is now Mastered!)
(+2 to Firebomb Strike)
(+4 to EWC)
(+2 to Campfire)
(+2 to Sickness Sear)
(Beaconlight is now Refined!)
(Sax Skill-Trick is now unlocked! Overflow added to skill)
Sealwood Sapling
As you go to plant the sealwood sapling into your soulscape, you immediately encounter a problem. How are you supposed to plant it if you can't get it into your soulscape in the first place?
While swallowing it is certainly an option... the prospect of putting something that is explicitly known to be sticky through your throat isn't exactly an attractive one. That would be an embarrassing way to die!
With that out of the question, you're left with relying on Blackhand for help. Unfortunately...
'I don't recall anything about this.'
He's not very helpful, though he does have some advice.
'Perhaps try using your fylgja? Or maybe you'll have to get your hands on a sealwood seed?' He shrugs. 'You might just have to plant it in reality and hope it takes.'
You frown. Well, that was a bust.
0~0~0 Bible Study
Jerasmus coughs as your eyes glaze over. "You're not finding this very interesting, are you?"
Face flushing red with embarrassment, you offer a slight shrug and a thin smile. "I, uh, well..."
"You can be honest with me, dear child. I will not think less of you, no matter your answer." Where others might have some ulterior motive, there's nothing but raw, honest sincerity in the Mendicant's gaze.
"I... You're right, I'm not really finding this that interesting." For some reason, you can't bring yourself to look him in the eye as you say that.
He laughs. "It's quite alright, child. I've not exactly been covering the parts relevant to Christianity." There's a gleam in his eyes as he clears his throat. "Now, obviously the Old Testament isn't something that works for you, but what about the New Testament?"
You shrug, settling in as Jerasmus begins to teach about a man named Jesus.
(+1 to Understanding the Bible)
0~0~0 Hearthroot Fronds
Once more in the meadow of your soul, you stand with one of the fronds of the Hearthroot in your hands. It was surprisingly easy to harvest, all it took was a light pull and a soft pop and boom, you had it.
The overall shape of the leafy frond is that of a spearhead. Or, rather, spearheads look like leaves. One side tapers to a sharp, angled point while the other is far gentler in its softly curving shape. It is very long, easily the size of your forearm, and the end curls inwards to form a sort of pouch — which is where most of the oil lies.
But, as you hold it in hand, it is the oil that catches your eye the most. It leaves a reddish trail as the droplets flow across the leafy, green surface of the frond. You get the feeling that this could be used in a multitude of different ways, but the idea that initially springs to mind is to rub it into your skin.
With a flick of the wrist you bring the frond to reality. Forming a shallow bowl from your crimson orthstirr, you pour in the oil. There's not a lot of it, but there's enough to cover a single person.
The oil shifts around the bowl in waves of reddish color. Light bounces off the liquid, leaving odd bits of rainbow in the glossy sheen.
Well, only one way to find out!
Dipping your hand into the bowl, you scoop up a palmful. Moving quickly, you rub it into your forearm before it has time to leak through your fingers.
When you finish, the skin on your arm has gained a slight, pale red tint. It feels... almost insulating? Is that the right word? Whatever the reason, a slight chill passes over your arm as the summer sun suddenly can't warm it.
Hmm, it seems that rubbing the oil into your skin provides you with protection against heat and, presumably, fire.
While not the most useful thing for you — given your family's general disposition towards fire — it would definitely help out anybody who isn't blessed with hair of fire and eyes of steel.
(Hearthroot Oil reduces incoming fire damage by 1)
0~0~0 Putting Odr into Kindle Spinner and Hamr
With Sigurdr watching intently from nearby — the little guy had thrown a fit when you tried to leave — you shoot a glare at the army of scorched and broken logs you've set up as target practice.
You've been at it for over an hour at this point. Kindle Spinner after Kindle Spinner sent hurtling down the field. Lines of scorched earth shows the path each took to reaching their targets — which were reduced to smoking splinters and burnt kindling upon impact.
You're getting good with Kindle Spinner. Good enough to call yourself a master of it!
'You are doing very well with the Spinner and your fire tricks in general.'
A pleased smile spreads across your face as Blackhand nods his praise, which draws a happy laugh and a gleeful clap from Sigurdr.
'But, you still have a lot to learn. For example, you've not done any experimenting with odr.'
You roll your eyes, which Sigurdr imitates — the gentle breeze playfully batting at his red hair. "I don't exactly have a lot to play around with, you know?"
'And when has that ever stopped you before? When you got your first few drops of orthstirr, you were playing with it left and right.'
Planting your hands on your hips, you lean in towards nothing — which Sigurdr tries his best to copy from the rocks on which he sits. "I was young then, and orthstirr replenishes swiftly."
Blackhand scoffs, grumbling to himself as you crack a smirk. 'Less talking, more training.'
Well, you've got enough odr to do a little bit of testing. Eyeing the battered log targets, an idea occurs to you. Since you've got all the stuff for Kindle Spinner set up, you might as well use it for testing, right?
Calling forth a droplet of odr, you feed it into the familiar technique. Though orthstirr eagerly leaps to fill the spot, you keep it away with a flex of will.
As you carefully spin a Kindle Spinner into existence, you immediately notice two things as you feed the odr in. The first is that you absolutely can use odr in the place of orthstirr. Heck, you feel like you could make another entire Kindle Spinner and a half just from this single droplet of odr! Amazing!
The second thing you notice is that it feels like if you hadn't used odr to fuel the trick — or used more of it — you could... enhance the effect? Is that the right way to put it? It feels like you can increase how much damage it deals.
Tossing the Kindle Spinner down range, it burns a path through the grass as it bounces off the ground and into the last standing log. It explodes, just like any of the other Kindle Spinners.
Interesting.
As you turn to pick the giggling Sigurdr up, an idea strikes you out of the blue. What if... what if you use it to fuel your hamr?
Stepping away from Sigurdr — who starts to cry the moment you do. He's a bit of a mama's boy, he is — you draw up another droplet of odr as you pull a drop of orthstirr away from your hamr. Breathing deeply, you close your eyes as you let the odr trickle into the newly empty slot.
The moment it fills it to the brim, the odr hardens and cements itself in place. Slowly, it fades away to join the foundation of might at the base of your soul. Opening your eyes, it's to a quiet world — Sigurdr had stopped crying when you started your work.
Your body feels... different, somehow. Like it was once made of soft clay that was only now fired. You feel just generally tougher, more robust. Like you could take that much more damage than you once could.
It's a good feeling. Like you could do more with less.
All in all, you're feeling pretty good!
Grinning ear to ear, you heft your Giant's Blooded son as easily as if you were lifting a runaway lamb.
(Hamr's Odr Infusion is now Rank 1! This means that the base dice for hamr is now 2d6 rather than 1d6. You also no longer have to put 6 orthstirr into your hamr to reach your dice max. Your Endurance has also increased by 1)
(-2 Odr)
0~0~0 Making Contact with the Dwarves (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 6x3, 5x2, 4x3, 3x1, 2x1, 1x1)12+1=13 Successes
With a bag of gifts in one hand, you stand with the other pressed against the soft bark of the golden-boughed tree. The stone door of the underhouse sits impassively in the ground, uncaring one way or another if you proceed or turn back.
Taking a deep breath, you find a spike and, following your instincts, press your palm against it. The spike pricks your palm, drawing blood from the wound as the trees all shudder and shake in unison.
An ground-shattering shake rumbles through the earth and nearly throws you off your feet. Steadying yourself on the tree trunk, you watch wide-eyed as the door lifts into the air, revealing a stone set of carved spiral staircases rising up from the earth.
The world stops shaking and you swallow a gulp as you check the gifts. Finding them all okay, you steel yourself and set onwards in your goal. One way or another, you would meet your dwarfy neighbors.
Your steps echo around you as you descend deep underground, into the bowels of the earth. You eventually have to call forth a palmful of fire as you find yourself immersed in darkness. The walls of the staircase are covered in carvings depicting a variety of scenes. Mostly concerning the lineage of the dwarves inside the underhold, you reckon.
Eventually, you find yourself at the bottom of the stairs, before a door of smooth, carved stone. Swallowing your nerves, you rap your knuckles against rock thrice. Each knock of skin on stone echoes around you like a church bell. If they didn't know you were there before, they do now.
Suddenly, without a shred of warning, the door swings... somewhere. One moment it was in front of you, the next it was swinging in all directions at once. Blinking as you step back, the door is gone and you're left staring at nothing.
A voice clears its throat and you look down to meet a pair of black-voids behind squinting eyes. A short, squat figure stands before you, cringing in the light of your fire. His skin is a pale, stony gray and instead of being smooth like a human's, it's about as smooth as a pebble beach. His hair is black and wiry as it falls down around the heavy slabs of muscle he calls shoulders and joins with the braided beard tucked into his belt.
All in all, he can't be taller than your hips, but he's as broad in build as Steinarr or Abjorn.
"Can you turn down the light?" He whisper-hisses, his voice like water over rocks. "It hurts."
Apologizing profusely — which he waves off genially — you shrink the light till its little more than a flicker of a candle. The dwarf still doesn't seem to like it, but he's not complaining.
He holds out a hand, which you take. His hand is like a vice-grip. You thought you were strong —you thought *Abjorn* was strong! — but compared to the dwarf... It's like you were a newborn babe and he a full-grown man.
"Toki Thunsson, of Clan Duckling," the dwarf announces his name and lineage with clear pride in his voice.
You respond in kind. "Halla Longstride."
The dwarf seems to be waiting for something that never comes. After several heartbeats of awkward hand-shaking, he coughs into his fist. "You're, uh, you're supposed to state your clan as well."
You blink. "Oh. Uh..."
He coughs again. "Based off of the name of the person who founded the clan."
'Volsung.'
You nod to both as you start once more. "I'm Halla Longstride, of Clan Volsung."
The dwarf's brows rise high on his stumpy head as he gives a low whistle. "Impressive lineage."
He releases your hand and bows, showing respect to the superior clan. You... have no idea what he means. "Uh, thanks?"
'...I'll tell you later.' You'll hold him to that.
The dwarf laughs as he stands up straight. "So, daughter of ash, what can we sons of stone do for you?"
You smile as you hold up the sack of gifts. "I recently came into ownership of the land upon which you dwell," he nods slowly, squinting harder, "and I decided that I had best come by to offer greetings to my neighbors, as well as gifts."
His entire demeanor changes as you mention gifts. He was polite and friendly before, but now he's downright pleasant. "Gifts, you say?" There's a sparkle in his eye as he speaks, a pleased grin spreading across his face.
"Yes, gifts," you say as you reach into the bag and retrieve the three sets of gifts you brought along. "The first," you begin as you hold up the axe, "is an axe I forged with my own two hands from iron earned through my own efforts."
Toki takes the axe gingerly as his gaze turns greedy. No matter how humanlike he may seem, it's important to remember that dwarves are not humans. What is greed to a human is appreciation for a dwarf.
"Gorgeous work," his words bring warm pride to your heart, "this is a true gift, especially from one such as yourself."
"The second gift," you say as you hold up the next in line, "comes in the form of three crafts of runic make. These are called Meat-Keeping Sticks and they will stop meat from going bad when stuck in."
Toki tucks the axe into his belt as he carefully examines the sticks. Finding them satisfactory, he slips them into his beard. "We of Clan Duckling thank you for your gifts.... but," he sniffs the air, avarice filling his eyes, "I can't help but smell your third and final offering."
You smile as you unveil the satchel of bundled-up food and mead. "I don't think I need to say what this is, do I?"
He takes it from you with blinding speed, eyes bulging from his head as he hunches over and opens the satchel. A shout of pure joy springs from his lips as he leaps into the air, heels clacking together before he touches back down.
"Food of the sun!" He cries as tears of happiness trickle down his face. "By the blood in my veins and the weight of my bones, I name you a Friend of Clan Duckling!"
You smile as the dwarf promises you three favors for the kindness shown this day.
0~0~0 Talking with Stigr about runes and tricks
After a morning spent walking Stigr through the process of wielding Hone, you find yourself sitting next to your friend as he practices his archery. As you watch him draw back the bowstring, your eyes catch a glimpse of the runes coating the arms.
"Say, Stigr," you begin as he lets loose another arrow, "can I see the runes on your bow?"
"Of course." He hands you Shivershot and you examine the runes from every angle.
Let all struck by falling-feathers be like the trees.
Frowning as you find yourself deep in thought, you hand the bow back to Stigr who takes it with a nod as he returns to practicing archery.
The both of you would be puzzling over runes for some time, him over the explosives and you over the bow.
('Let all struck by falling-feathers be like the trees.' added to Known Runes )
0~0~0 Attacking one of the bandit camps to the East
(Hugr (Tactics): 5, 3, 1, 1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1) 2 Successes
You stand with Stigr, Stigmar, Sten, Gabriel, Abjorn, and Aki all around you as you watch the bandit camp from the distance — Magnify-Sight providing a much-needed boost to your eyesight. Joarr Halfdansson, Jordan Halfdansson's younger brother, elected to accompany you on this venture. He carries a bow and a sax.
The camp is little more than pitched tents in the mouth of a cave. A small half-circle of fence-posts rings around the entrance as a lone guard stands at the entrance — a spear in one hand, shield in the other, and a gambeson over his body. A sax hangs from his belt.
Something hangs from his neck, an amulet of some kind. You can tell that there are runes on it from here, but it's not clear enough to read. A shame.
The guard doesn't seem especially strong, but you can't glean much from how he holds himself. He looks somewhere around twenty, if you had to make a guess. Probably a bit older. Just from the amount of equipment he wears, he's obviously been on a raid before.
You don't know how many bandits there are right now, but there were eight when you scouted it out with your fylgja a month ago.
Endurance: (7/7) | Armor Health: (8/8) | Shield Health: (NA)
Orthstirr: (279/279) | Odr: (25)
( ) Frami: 93 | ( ) Virthing: 93 | ( ) Saemd: 93
Sagaseeker has 8 orthstirr in its reservoir.
You can put 33 points of orthstirr into your combat pool
Your combat pool is 12d6.
What do you do?
[ ] (Plan Name)
-[ ] (Dice) Attack
-[ ] (Dice) Defense
-[ ] (Dice) Intercept
-[ ] (Dice) (Trick) (Orthstirr)
-[ ] Tactics Write in
0~0~0
AN: Oh boy, I'm excited to see your reactions to all the crazy bullshit that happens in this one!
Also, this will serve as a good way to ease yourself back into fighting now that your plot armor is 100% gone.
Okay, huh, Odr Infusion is a big deal, I don't think it's as simple as just 1 point of Odr per point though. I expect it works on Powers of 3, or else it'd be too easy.
So the next point of Infusion would be at 3 drops, then 9, then probably 27.
On the other hand, Infusion is a permanent bonus, and apparently gives other benefits as well. Like how our Hamr counts twice for the purpose of Endurance for each Infusion point of it, I imagine Hugr will work by giving another point of capacity per step.
Hearthroot Oil isn't great for us, specifically, but it'd be really handy for party members if we're going to fight a fire user, or going to have to go danger close for some reason.
Yeesh, it's definitely a good way for Halla to catch up with the older guys.
Even with my estimate, I think Infusing up to Rank 2 for all of our stats is probably within reach? I predict it's 4 Odr per stat total to get to Rank 2. Rank 3 though I suspect is 9, and then 27, so higher level Infusions grow prohibitively expensive.
And Infusions basically establish our Performance Floor, right? Every rank of Infusion is one less Orthstirr needed in that Attribute to max it out?
Jerasmus coughs as your eyes glaze over. "You're not finding this very interesting, are you?"
Face flushing red with embarrassment, you offer a slight shrug and a thin smile. "I, uh, well..."
"You can be honest with me, dear child. I will not think less of you, no matter your answer." Where others might have some ulterior motive, there's nothing but raw, honest sincerity in the Mendicant's gaze.
"I... You're right, I'm not really finding this that interesting." For some reason, you can't bring yourself to look him in the eye as you say that.
He laughs. "It's quite alright, child. I've not exactly been covering the parts relevant to Christianity." There's a gleam in his eyes as he clears his throat. "Now, obviously the Old Testament isn't something that works for you, but what about the New Testament?"
You shrug, settling in as Jerasmus begins to teach about a man named Jesus.
I haven't read most of the update yet, but I find this actually oddly relatable.
When I read the Book, I made it about… 200 pages into the Old Testament?
And then I got tired of the feuds and bloodletting and one (1) apocalyptic (???) flood that bizarrely and painstakingly described the dimensions of Noah's boat.
I ended up reading the New Testament first, which was actually revelatory, and much more straightforward to parse*.
Only after that, did I go back to reading chapters of love poetry, nihilistic fatalism, prophets summoning burning mana and King David's famous soldiers.
*(Except for the Letter from John. Bro. Chill.)
If I were planning to go through the bible with someone with the intent to convert, I'd honestly leave out most of the Old Testament. Most of it is just.. backdrop.
Unfortunately, unless the Bible has way more to say about actual magic than the IRL version, I don't think Halla will appreciate the parable of the sower either way.
EDIT: Oh hol' up a minute, it's just 2 for the next level?
Well, that changes the numbers up significantly. If it's 'Just' Doubles each time, same as the skill, we can probably push them all up to....
(Runs some numbers)
1, 2, 4, 8...
Yeah, Rank 3 each for next turn without putting ourselves in the poorhouse, expense of 20 Odr - 10 for our intake, so we'd have 15 to spend on other projects. Maybe a single Rank 4 to see if there's anything neat for getting a rank 4 Odr Infusion.
Shame that the Sealwood thing didn't work out though, ah well, can't blame us for trying.
Also, huh, Halla's Clan traces direct descent from the Aesir apparently. I mean, Thor did straight up tell us, but this is confirmation.
Toki tucks the axe into his belt as he carefully examines the sticks. Finding them satisfactory, he slips them into his beard. "We of Clan Duckling thank you for your gifts.... but," he sniffs the air, avarice filling his eyes, "I can't help but smell your third and final offering."
"Food of the sun!" He cries as tears of happiness trickle down his face. "By the blood in my veins and the weight of my bones, I name you a Friend of Clan Duckling!"
The Sentry's probably got something to give warning if they're under attack, I'd bet that's what's on their pendant. He's reasonable seasoned, but on the level of an ordinary 20 year old, which is decent but probably inferior to our crew on a one to one basis, especially Gabriel.
We still don't want to take them lightly of course. We absolutely want to watch for anything like the Glue Traps or the Scorpions, but I don't think those would go to a relatively expendable bandit group.
If we had enough of it, we might be able to infuse a good suit of mail with it while we're crafting it! Innate Fire Resistance would be a heck of a trick to put into a hauberk.
Multiposting a bit here to try and devise a good strategy, but @Imperial Fister , just checking, but it's basically one sentry and a fence surrounding a cave opening? Is that about right?
I haven't read most of the update yet, but I find this actually oddly relatable.
When I read the Book, I made it about… 200 pages into the Old Testament?
And then I got tired of the feuds and bloodletting and one (1) apocalyptic (???) flood that bizarrely and painstakingly described the dimensions of Noah's boat.
I ended up reading the New Testament first, which was actually revelatory, and much more straightforward to parse*.
That reminds me of a funny note in a British study on the intellectual habits of the non-intellectual classes a while ago, which naturally included reading the Bible. Some people still didn't find it straightforward to parse, and hadn't picked up on the Gospels being different POVs of the same events, instead interpreting them as happening sequentially like it's a Groundhog Day Loop lasting for several years that Jesus has to repeat for some reason.
Given the age of the setting, how is there anyone who doesn't? 🤔The kings and cultivation masters might live x10 years, but any sort of offshoot bloodline is going to spread around real widely among normal people with 10x the normal generations and intermarriages.
Multiposting a bit here to try and devise a good strategy, but @Imperial Fister , just checking, but it's basically one sentry and a fence surrounding a cave opening? Is that about right?
