Realms of Myth
Rihaku
The Internet
Realms of Myth
The winner was [X] The Opalescent Tower with [X] Decimation Lens. A very close vote on multiple fronts, and well-fought by both sides!
With the Decimation Lens pointing Hunger towards a valid Huntress' Moon target, the group prepares to set out from the Sovereignty. But what is Hunger's attitude towards the governance of the Sovereignty itself?
[ ] Laissez-faire - Hunger is unconcerned about the internal politics of this remote Voyaging nation. They've given him plenty of free stuff and there's neither the time nor the inclination amongst most of his party to remain entangled here for long.
[ ] Intervention Mk. I - Aeira's family has some experience ruling this nation, right? They should be in power. Two allied civilizations are better than one. [+1 Arete, Starts Elixir Sovereign sub-plot. Should be fairly brief]
[ ] Be the Change - While the Decimation is a pressing concern, no less so is the governance of this nation on which turns the lives of millions. Given the power and versatility of these High Elementalists, the Elixir Sovereignty is sure to be relevant in greater Voyaging Realm affairs going forward. With Stenallon occupied in the Temple, it falls to Hunger to marshal the courage of his convictions and bring to these people what he failed to in his second world: a well-functioning society, with reasonable laws and free of excessive burdens on its populace. How hard could it be? [+1 pick to next experience point, unlocks a Defining Advancement if successful]
*There isn't time to overhaul everything so he'll have to keep the general framework of their civilization, but there's nothing wrong with an amendment that makes Hunger the constitutional monarch with theoretical veto power over the ministries of government.
*He can then wield this authority to root out corruption and make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly within the bureaucracy, no flagrant abuse of power is occurring, and so on and so forth. Those who Gisena and Aeira vets, he will Ennoble, granting them a near-insurmountable tactical advantage in office politics.
*With the help of his well-feted reputation, and a certain renaissance woman, this task goes from improbably difficult to merely challenging.
*Will saddle you with some modest responsibilities to the governance and protection of the Sovereignty, potentially escalating to major responsibilities should the Sovereignty be endangered again.
*However, you'll also receive massive potential benefits in time, such as an army of High Elementalists with a dizzying away of capabilities...
*Could take a while OOC even if IC it's the whirlwind effort of a few days.
---
Venturing to the lands enclosed by the Walls of Myth, what is Hunger's primary destination?
[ ] The Walls of Myth - It's a long trip to get there, so why not take a slight detour to examine the fabled walls themselves? There is sure to be high magic in plentiful supply here by the lidless cloud-piercing battlements that have successfully severed all they enclose from a domain as formidable as the Voyaging Realm. Do they wield Foremost magics themselves, or arts of a school of comparable power? Or are the Walls themselves merely some form of trick or exploit, failing to match the Foremost in puissance but superior to their unattended works in treachery? Either way, there is much to learn.
*Detour means your journey will tend towards the longer side of the estimate (closer to 10 days than 7 for the entire trip)
*Magics, artifice, ancient lore - who knows what awaits buried within the Walls of Myth?
[ ] The Tower Itself - Straight to the Tower, all else can wait. Perhaps it's reckless to charge in without an overview of the lands' magics but Hunger wields both the Praxis and the power of Ruin and is assisted by the wielders of Nullity and True Vigorflame. There are very few supernatural threats he would lack an adequate answer for.
*Somewhat riskier, but swifter.
*May generate more picks
*Gain beneficial condition, I Am The Danger for the duration of the Tower hunt.
---
Finally, Hunger has gotten some experience from slaying Astral Beasts attracted by the healed Verschlengorge these past days. 2 picks were acquired; what shall they be spent on? You currently have 10.9 Arete. Choose only one.
[ ] Towards Stranglethorn - Commits you to Stranglethorn, but also gets you halfway there! It's a potent Defining Advancement that suits Hunger well and scales greatly with All-Defeating Stance, while the power of Establishment gives Hunger a source of passive power in most timeskips. Doubled Willpower +s are also tremendously valuable given Cut Through's Willpower modifier to physical stats.
*If you don't commit to Stranglethorn now you may be distracted by other options in the future
*Stranglethorn's good, no need to overcomplicate things!
[ ] Honing (2 Arete) - Take Honing and unlock the Blood Advancements beyond it! Combat intelligence and more Agility are rarely bad. It's good value for your Arete and substantially improves Hunger's tactical acumen for most fights.
*Cheap and good, what's not to love?
*Efficient and unlocks future efficient picks.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.
*Stacks additively with All-Defeating Stance
*Grants a fairly major combat upgrade, as you already have high Strength and Strength-scaling Ruin
*Increasing your rate of healing works well with your high Health pool from Inherit the World
*You can also take one Echo alongside this ability, increasing your Strength even further!
[ ] Feat: Crown (12 Arete) - Requires Be the Change. Unlocks the potential for Feat: Saber and Feat: Orb. You may find an opportunity to acquire this Feat again, but it is rare and dependent on circumstance...
If you survive, no power will be beyond you.
The Accursed had told him that. These three short weeks have felt like a lifetime, filled with harrowing challenge, foes and travails over every horizon. He has never worked so hard or so furiously in his life, even against the world-pervading crush of the Tyrant's presence. But the reward of discipline is power, and power has been attained at last. Power enough, in some ways, even to eclipse the Hero who stood against that Tyrant of yore, all those long months ago... power to triumph where he failed.
Now, child of Earth. How will you use that power?
At last attain the outcome that Hunger died for, what he set out to do before age and treachery taught him what may have been his final lesson, but for the intervention of the Accursed. Gain +.25 Base Rank; +.5 with modifiers. Rank gain may be reduced (with partial Arete refund) if reforms are not successful. This Feat would normally put you into pick debt, but Be the Change covers the difference.
*That's a lot of Rank.
*A lot of Rank.
*But it's also a lot of Arete...
---
If you enjoyed the chapters, please consider subscribing on Patreon! Subscribers receive lots of patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. A huge thanks to existing subscribers, the amount of support has been truly amazing! There will be an additional Blurb Library update coming tomorrow or the day after as well!
If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join us on the AST Discord! We encourage substantive posts still to be made in the thread, and shitposting within the Discord.
The winner was [X] The Opalescent Tower with [X] Decimation Lens. A very close vote on multiple fronts, and well-fought by both sides!
With the Decimation Lens pointing Hunger towards a valid Huntress' Moon target, the group prepares to set out from the Sovereignty. But what is Hunger's attitude towards the governance of the Sovereignty itself?
[ ] Laissez-faire - Hunger is unconcerned about the internal politics of this remote Voyaging nation. They've given him plenty of free stuff and there's neither the time nor the inclination amongst most of his party to remain entangled here for long.
[ ] Intervention Mk. I - Aeira's family has some experience ruling this nation, right? They should be in power. Two allied civilizations are better than one. [+1 Arete, Starts Elixir Sovereign sub-plot. Should be fairly brief]
[ ] Be the Change - While the Decimation is a pressing concern, no less so is the governance of this nation on which turns the lives of millions. Given the power and versatility of these High Elementalists, the Elixir Sovereignty is sure to be relevant in greater Voyaging Realm affairs going forward. With Stenallon occupied in the Temple, it falls to Hunger to marshal the courage of his convictions and bring to these people what he failed to in his second world: a well-functioning society, with reasonable laws and free of excessive burdens on its populace. How hard could it be? [+1 pick to next experience point, unlocks a Defining Advancement if successful]
*There isn't time to overhaul everything so he'll have to keep the general framework of their civilization, but there's nothing wrong with an amendment that makes Hunger the constitutional monarch with theoretical veto power over the ministries of government.
*He can then wield this authority to root out corruption and make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly within the bureaucracy, no flagrant abuse of power is occurring, and so on and so forth. Those who Gisena and Aeira vets, he will Ennoble, granting them a near-insurmountable tactical advantage in office politics.
*With the help of his well-feted reputation, and a certain renaissance woman, this task goes from improbably difficult to merely challenging.
*Will saddle you with some modest responsibilities to the governance and protection of the Sovereignty, potentially escalating to major responsibilities should the Sovereignty be endangered again.
*However, you'll also receive massive potential benefits in time, such as an army of High Elementalists with a dizzying away of capabilities...
*Could take a while OOC even if IC it's the whirlwind effort of a few days.
---
Venturing to the lands enclosed by the Walls of Myth, what is Hunger's primary destination?
[ ] The Walls of Myth - It's a long trip to get there, so why not take a slight detour to examine the fabled walls themselves? There is sure to be high magic in plentiful supply here by the lidless cloud-piercing battlements that have successfully severed all they enclose from a domain as formidable as the Voyaging Realm. Do they wield Foremost magics themselves, or arts of a school of comparable power? Or are the Walls themselves merely some form of trick or exploit, failing to match the Foremost in puissance but superior to their unattended works in treachery? Either way, there is much to learn.
*Detour means your journey will tend towards the longer side of the estimate (closer to 10 days than 7 for the entire trip)
*Magics, artifice, ancient lore - who knows what awaits buried within the Walls of Myth?
[ ] The Tower Itself - Straight to the Tower, all else can wait. Perhaps it's reckless to charge in without an overview of the lands' magics but Hunger wields both the Praxis and the power of Ruin and is assisted by the wielders of Nullity and True Vigorflame. There are very few supernatural threats he would lack an adequate answer for.
*Somewhat riskier, but swifter.
*May generate more picks
*Gain beneficial condition, I Am The Danger for the duration of the Tower hunt.
---
Finally, Hunger has gotten some experience from slaying Astral Beasts attracted by the healed Verschlengorge these past days. 2 picks were acquired; what shall they be spent on? You currently have 10.9 Arete. Choose only one.
[ ] Towards Stranglethorn - Commits you to Stranglethorn, but also gets you halfway there! It's a potent Defining Advancement that suits Hunger well and scales greatly with All-Defeating Stance, while the power of Establishment gives Hunger a source of passive power in most timeskips. Doubled Willpower +s are also tremendously valuable given Cut Through's Willpower modifier to physical stats.
*If you don't commit to Stranglethorn now you may be distracted by other options in the future
*Stranglethorn's good, no need to overcomplicate things!
[ ] Honing (2 Arete) - Take Honing and unlock the Blood Advancements beyond it! Combat intelligence and more Agility are rarely bad. It's good value for your Arete and substantially improves Hunger's tactical acumen for most fights.
*Cheap and good, what's not to love?
*Efficient and unlocks future efficient picks.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.
*Stacks additively with All-Defeating Stance
*Grants a fairly major combat upgrade, as you already have high Strength and Strength-scaling Ruin
*Increasing your rate of healing works well with your high Health pool from Inherit the World
*You can also take one Echo alongside this ability, increasing your Strength even further!
[ ] Feat: Crown (12 Arete) - Requires Be the Change. Unlocks the potential for Feat: Saber and Feat: Orb. You may find an opportunity to acquire this Feat again, but it is rare and dependent on circumstance...
If you survive, no power will be beyond you.
The Accursed had told him that. These three short weeks have felt like a lifetime, filled with harrowing challenge, foes and travails over every horizon. He has never worked so hard or so furiously in his life, even against the world-pervading crush of the Tyrant's presence. But the reward of discipline is power, and power has been attained at last. Power enough, in some ways, even to eclipse the Hero who stood against that Tyrant of yore, all those long months ago... power to triumph where he failed.
Now, child of Earth. How will you use that power?
At last attain the outcome that Hunger died for, what he set out to do before age and treachery taught him what may have been his final lesson, but for the intervention of the Accursed. Gain +.25 Base Rank; +.5 with modifiers. Rank gain may be reduced (with partial Arete refund) if reforms are not successful. This Feat would normally put you into pick debt, but Be the Change covers the difference.
*That's a lot of Rank.
*A lot of Rank.
*But it's also a lot of Arete...
---
If you enjoyed the chapters, please consider subscribing on Patreon! Subscribers receive lots of patron-exclusive content, including early updates, Blurb Library, Discord roles, and bonus chapters. A huge thanks to existing subscribers, the amount of support has been truly amazing! There will be an additional Blurb Library update coming tomorrow or the day after as well!
If you'd like to discuss the quest in real-time or just chat with the questers, you're welcome to join us on the AST Discord! We encourage substantive posts still to be made in the thread, and shitposting within the Discord.
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