The foremost were probably led by a Geas-inflicted Progression cursebearer.

It would explain a lot.
Yeah, the Voyaging Realm does seem like an elaborate Indenture mitigation setup. If Seram's responsible for the Foremost, I'm going to laugh for multiple consecutive days.
Apparently by becoming a sorceror! Or an orc I guess?
Orcs seem to consume findross in the process of refining themselves into ever-greater idealized killing machines, that could dovetail unpleasantly with Decimation. Could work well with a warrior-lord build, though I don't think you'd want to subject Gisena to another Orc Hero.
I'm personally hoping for eye lasers. That way Gisena can shout "Nullity Beam!" while staring down our enemies.
Sorry, wrong Sorceress! We didn't get the Lady Porcelain.
 
Once and Future
Once and Future

Evening came. Letrizia had retreated into Verschlengorge to rest, while Gisena meditated quietly beside the campfire, legs crossed in the lotus position. Instincts honed through years of supernatural warfare alerted him to the gathering of mystical force. He rose, blade in hand, scanning the horizon.

"Oh, did I startle you?" Gisena's eyes opened. "Sorry! I'm close to a breakthrough right now."

"Warn me first," he admonished, sitting back down. "I thought we had more teleporters incoming."

She laughed, scooting next to him. "If that'd been the case I would have warned you!"

"So, a breakthrough."

She nodded. "I've got to keep up, or you'll be all by your lonesome. Lucky for you I'm so smart."

"Just me, Letrizia, and Verschlengorge. All alone."

"Yup! But don't worry, I think I've grasped a new aspect to the nature of findross. If I'm correct, the Foremost utilized it as well. Letrizia's work has been quite helpful on the matter."

"Really?" He looked at her, eyes wide.

She giggled. "Curious now? I wonder what you'll give to know... ?"

"I'm giving you my attention right now," he deadpanned. "That could change."

"Oh my!" She clutched her hands to her chest. "Well, in that case, how about this? Tell me something about your adventures. Letrizia's not the only one with a mysterious past, mister hero."

"Hmph." He closed his eyes. "My... wife was the adopted heiress of the Tyrant. She originally infiltrated our group on his orders, but turned against him when she saw the depredations inflicted upon the people. She sacrificed herself and our unborn child so I could deliver the killing blow against him. I put everything of myself into that final attack. By my estimation, half my spirit and my memories were burned away. That was about a year ago now. Much of the past is a mystery to me as well."

Gisena gently laid a hand on his arm. "May I give you a hug?"

He closed his eyes. "Sure."

She drew him into a soft embrace, whispered words falling gently into his ear. Her hair draped over his face, its delicate scent wafting over him. "It's not your fault. You know she doesn't blame you. That she would reject any idea that you had failed at all. But that doesn't feel like it's good enough. You want to blame yourself, because that means you could have made a difference, perhaps?"

"Gisena..."

She drew back slightly, bringing them face to face, and cocked her head in an expression of faux innocence. "Hm? Am I wrong?"

He scoffed lightly. "What do you think?"

"I think it's not healthy to keep everything bottled up by yourself. You can rely on us, just until you get everything in order."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk. Have you ever lost your composure before?"

She smiled sadly, leaning into the embrace again. "I've been trying to become less controlled since I arrived in this world!"

Gisena paused, mulling over her next words. "The Maiden... is every Sorceress' role model, the founder of our civilization and source of all our Graces. To quickly advance in Sorcery, one should emulate her as closely as possible. Excellence in every field. Perfection in grace and poise. And, it goes without saying, remaining a pure and chaste maiden. Not to brag, but it all came easily for me. Many lords tried courting me, but none of them ever came close to keeping up, so it was easy to avoid becoming interested. It was easy to deflect them, easy to master the arts and sciences, easy to advance as a Sorceress... I never really faced anything comparable to what you did, since I portaled away before the Hero could begin his conquest. My home civilization may be doomed, but I've never had to see it burn. Would I lose my composure if I had?"

She shrugged, voice soft. "...I don't know. It's not that it doesn't hurt, but it's simply not in my nature to show it. Perhaps that's because of training. But, I think it's more likely that I was always like this. That it's simply who I am."

"...Perhaps you're fine as you are. In any case, it was a ringing endorsement of yourself."

"Isn't it? I could go on all day about how wonderful I am. The perfect distraction from your ills!"

"Well, at least she's self-aware."

"Speaking of, I'm hopeful this new breakthrough will free me of the Maiden's shadow, allowing me to improve my sorceries directly! Though I'm not certain of the exact benefits it'll bring..."

"Don't blow yourself up."

"Hm? Gonna miss me?"

"I won't miss your cooking, that's for certain."

"Really? I think it's cute. Everyone should have at last one quirk like that."

"As long as one doesn't inflict it on others."

"I'll have you know, I unwrapped some ration bars for Letrizia the other day, and she said they tasted perfectly fine!"

He patted her on the back. "There, there. Do you hear this? That's the sound of one hand clapping."

---

Dawn of the next day saw him rising from his bedroll to greet the sun. Letrizia was up as well, furiously brushing her teeth as Verschlengorge slumbered. The Armament's chest was open, low to the ground so that its pilot could use the inbuilt bathroom for its water faucet and mirror.

"I've been meaning to ask, has your civilization not invented an easier solution for that?"

"Hwah?" She gargled and spat. "Sorry, what?"

"The toothbrush and toothpaste."

"Oh!" She set her cup down, splashing water repeatedly on her face, energetically applying a towel. "You and Miss Gisena have it easy, with your Rank and fancy findross. We do have technologically sophisticated dental hygiene, but it requires some infrastructure. Out in the field this is just more reliable."

"Like your paper manuals?"

"Yup!" She chirped, leaning against Verschlengorge's recumbent hand. "Also, a lot of augments aren't compatible with the Totality control scheme. Verschlengorge was grumpy even about my hair for a while, and that's nothing!"

She pretended casualness, dragging her foot in the dirt. "So, what's the plan for today, intrepid bodyguard? Going to invade the Temple again?"

"Thinking about it," he stretched idly. "Gisena will stay here with you, but don't expect her to be of any use. She's busy meditating to attain a Sorcerous breakthrough of some kind."

"So I'll have to keep her safe, huh? Maybe I should dock your pay for that!"

"You can try," he said amusedly.

"W-what's that supposed to mean? Think I won't do it?"

"It'd be Gisena's portion of the pay, feel free to take it up with her."

"Aheheheh..."

"Anyway," she walked around him, hands behind her back, "You don't need to worry about us. If anything, we should be doing the bulk of the worrying here. Have you considered taking it easy for a day or two?"

"Yes, I decided against it."

She nodded, a bit downcast. "Okay. Hey, when do you think 'Ber' is going to return? Are we strong enough to beat him yet?"

"I doubt it. But he won't be back for a while. We have at least a few weeks more. In that time, I'll need to surpass him, or get Verschlengorge's biological components repaired to an acceptable standard."

"That's going to be tough." She bit her lip. "Without the proper facilities, it'll be hard to bring him to anywhere near fully operational. Most of the biological side is Foremost technology. I know your ring is powerful, but..."

"Give it time. We'll see in a week or two if the Armament is still beyond this particular ring of power. And if not, there's another one that I'm trying to liberate from the Temple denizens."

"Well, good luck!" She said, skipping over to the Armament's cockpit. "Don't be out too late. Any preferences for dinner?"

"That soup was good."

"Mm-hm! Soup it is!"

---

[X] Breach the Middle with [X] Fall of Night has won.

Gisena's Sorcerous evolution will be complete in two days. You did not choose to assist her, but you may still gain access to some of the options via Arete expenditure, representing Gisena's own moment of genius. You have 2 Arete.

High Sorceress - Through her examination of Letrizia's research into the nature of Pressure, Astral Rank and the Foremost, Gisena has transformed herself into a High Sorceress, findross integrated indelibly into her spirit so that her Sorcerous state is now the default. Her separate Graces have been merged and expanded into an overarching power of Nullity, though she remains conversant only with a few functions identical to her previous power-set at the current time. Still, the potential for future growth is tremendous, and she's already made a breakthrough in one area:

[ ] Incident Nullification - Gisena is able to nullify specific phenomena or concepts on which she has practiced extensively; the more abstract and influential the target, the more difficult the Nullifcation, with even moderate nullifications being of surpassing complexity. However, the ultimate potential for this ability is vast.

*Low initial utility, high potential.

[ ] Lance of Nullity - A focused burst of intensified Nullity that carries the full disenchanting force of her Ultimate, but at far less cost. Simple and effective, if a bit linear.

*High initial utility, low potential.

[ ] Grand Nullification - 2 Arete. Focusing on the single greatest threat to the party's safety and livelihood, Gisena mitigates the Apocryphal Curse one full step further. This will sharply decrease the amount of energy and potential she has to spare on combat applications, unless you invest considerably into her future development options.

*I hope I don't have to point out the merits of this option
*I will say that it has minimal bearing on your immediate circumstances, however.

[ ] Sublime Attainment - 2 Arete. It is said that this Sorceress' only lot is to nullify, but that is false. The powers of the Maiden are but one aspect of her Grace; her supernal perfection is the other. For is it not the province of the Maiden to excel at all things? And who better to embody that legacy than Lady Gisena Allria, genius of her age? Fitting that a genius would so adeptly play to her strengths.

Sharply increases the Attribute bonuses granted to Gisena from Sorcery, increasing Gisena's physical attributes, Wits, and Appearance to levels competitive with Hunger's higher stats.

*Very high initial utility, medium potential
*Makes her existing arsenal much more accurate and improves her powers in social combat

Gisena will still have access to Incident Nullification and increased parameters either way, but not selecting them means she will not focus her efforts on those areas unless prompted in the future.

---

Though no true accommodation is possible with the residents of the Temple, it could not hurt to make them think otherwise, especially with your venturing into the Middle Temple alone. Then again, a hardened attitude and unswerving focus on violence have a certain effectiveness of their own...

[ ] Hear Them Out - Attempt diplomacy, reveal information about yourself and your Ring in an attempt to draw out information about the Inner Temple and their Ring. See if any pressure points remain for subversion or corruption of existing forces. Your Ring of Blood makes you intimidating to most living foes; many should be willing to talk when their very hearts quiver in fear of you. [+.25 Arete, +information?]

[ ] Cut Through - Their deaths are regrettable. But their opposition is inevitable. Therefore it can be no other way. Do it cleanly. Do it simply. No false pretenses. Like the Forebear would have wanted. [+1 pick to be spent on Forebear's Blade options, +5% effectiveness, +Mental Contamination, -1 Once and Future Cost]

[ ] Opportunistic Raiding - Actually, see if you can catch another party of adventurers in the midst of battle with the Middle or Inner Residents, ideally a party in need of some assistance. You can gain a group of useful companions and take out a powerful outrider in one fell swoop. And with the power of Astral Rank, you needn't rely solely on random chance to deliver such a tempting prospect to you! [+temp companions, +0-20% effectiveness, 20% chance of failure, in which case proceed with Breach the Middle unmodified]
 
Holy sssssssssssmokes. Those are some Gisena buffs indeed. I can't choose between saving Arete or mitigating the Apocryphal Curse by another step. Probably voting for Cut Through, but the mental contamination leaves me a bit leery.
 
The nature of Accretion is such that it's best to always be yourself-

[X] Cut Through

-unless you can be the Forebear. In which case, always be the Forebear.

[X] Incident Nullification

S A V E

Grand Nullification is great but we're never going to get the Ruling Ring if we jump at every last neat shiny. We'll get it later, when it's actually relevant.
 
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I just had a weird theory. Endgame/Ending, what if we have to go back in time and Become the forebear. We were once the forebear in the past and in the future we become him.

[x]Hear them Out
[x]Opportunistic Raiding

[x]Incident Nullification
[x]Grand Nullification
[x]Sublime Attainment

I intend to change this later.
 
So Gisena gets her evolution on her own, does this mean we will never be able to give her an starlight dress? Or any of our other companions for that matter? And will never get that pseudo grace? I would be very disappointed if we have just completely passes on the aesthetic of core companions cloaked in evening stars like ourselves but hey at least she gets cool stuff.
 
[X] Sublime Attainment
[X] Opportunistic Raiding


Opportunistic Raiding because I like the idea of having meat shields to take the hits while Gisena is staying with Versh. Additionally, Nightmare Praetor, Hunger's experience as a leader, and the various social powers we've picked up should be nifty, and our Ring will ensure those allies are helpful.
 
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[X] Sublime Attainment
[X] Opportunistic Raiding

Ugh so mad that we can only take one of these options for Gisena now. At least the salt is soothed by the wholesome Gisena interaction. But you guys disappointed our daughter with your reckless temple charging. If people vote for Grand Nullification instead of something that boosts Gisena though I'm going to lose my shit.

Sublime Attainment is my pick since it makes Gisena all around better and lets her compete physically with the challenges of the temple. Super useful right now when we need it but still good long term.

Opportunistic because I don't particularly want to open us to social attacks with Hear them Out and I want mental contamination nearly as much as I want Gisena to be murdered. Plus the plan was to pick up some scrubs to buff with Blood at some point anyway so this seems like a good chance.
 
Ooh, OK. I wonder if we would have gotten an extra Gisena pick or were able to take the 2-Arete choices without Arete if we'd chosen to stay behind? Ah well.

I'm suspicious of that Mental Contamination personally. +1 Pick, +1 Arete(limited), and +5% effectiveness is a large benefit though.

Opportunistic Raiding gets us +20% effectiveness (!), and new friends. Doom of the Tyrant looms, but I feel like this should be pretty safe, and it's certainly effective. They're unlikely to try to give orders to their rescuer, and if they do they'll be unlikely to retaliate. I think this is my preferred choice.

Hear them out could be interesting. We know there was a chance of convincing the Knight-Commander to join us, maybe we can split the locals?

All of the Gisena picks are quite good. I'm inclined towards Incident Nullification, she's in a party with a Progression-class Cursebearer. We can handle short-term party defense, but keeping up with us will be hard - thus, the option with low initial strength and high low-term potential is fairly ideal.
 

Don't worry, we'll reduce Gisena's screentime in the future! Or perhaps one should read the update rather than scrolling to se what won!

Holy sssssssssssmokes. Those are some Gisena buffs indeed. I can't choose between saving Arete or mitigating the Apocryphal Curse by another step. Probably voting for Cut Through, but the mental contamination leaves me a bit leery.

CUT. THROUGH. WITH. SORD.

- THE. 4. BARE.

Anyway, as I suspected, Gisena's buffs are pretty great and could have been better if we chose to help; but this is pretty fine, too.

The 2 Arete options are very good, though unfortunately stapled to a squishy Sorceress! Though Sublime Attainment does take care of that to some degree!

The nature of Accretion is such that it's best to always be yourself-

[X] Cut Through

-unless you can be the Forebear. In which case, always be the Forebear.

[X] Incident Nullification

S A V E

Grand Nullification is great but we're never going to get the Ruling Ring if we jump at every last neat shiny. We'll get it later, when it's actually relevant.

In terms of surviving the Temple, Sublime Attainment >> Lance of Nullity >> the other two, as not having to carry Gisena would give Hunger a lot less mass for his STR and AGI to move around, increasing his speed and maneuverability substantially! It would also increase her actions per second substantially. Weren't you committed to living no matter the cost?

[x]Hear them Out
[x]Opportunistic Raiding

[x]Incident Nullification
[x]Grand Nullification
[x]Sublime Attainment

I intend to change this later.

You just really hate Cutting Through, huh? And Lance of Nullity.

[X] Lance of Nullity
[X] Opportunistic Raiding


Lance of Nullity is the more immediately useful option that doesn't cost Arete and I want to save for the push for Ruling Ring. Opportunistic Raiding because I like the idea of having meat shields to take the hits while Gisena is staying with Versh. Additionally, Nightmare Praetor, Hunger's experience as a leader, and the various social powers we've picked up should be nifty, and our Ring will ensure those allies are helpful.

NOW you guys want to save? Honestly I think it might be a lost cause for the duration of the Temple...
 
I'd like to call out a Word of Rihaku about an old quest protagonist named Hitori's derived magic that may be relevant here. It's possible Mental Corruption may be about a Faust Alberich scenario.

He could draw information from his future self, the Lich King Faust Alberich. If Madoka Kaname was the benevolent angel of rebellion who overturned the monstrous order of the cosmos, Faust Alberich was the tyrant god at the end of time who had created that order in the first place. As the progenitor of the Incubators, you would have been able to give them orders, tell them to screw over their contractors, or summon incubator hypertechnology. However, each time you used your Derived Magic, the Lich King would insert information to steer Hitori's future towards the one where the Lich King existed in indomitable preeminence.

The power is difficult to entirely encapsulate in a brief text description, however. If the variant movements of quantum particles can be said to split the universe into an infinite number of branching futures within configuration space, Hitori's power can be thought of as "forcing the wave function of the infinite multiverse to collapse into a single universe," and that is the universe where the Lich King rules unquestioned and for ever.

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

The Gardens of Enoch: Terrascape Academy Original

They are the product of an environment powerfully and repeatedly optimized towards self-discipline and productive activity, so probably 30% of the way towards "a human capable of consistently taking the optimal route regardless of willpower or motivation." If they hadn't engineered a system that...
 
I think either Incident Nullifcation if we want to provide Gisena with physical buffs ourself at some point or Sublime Attainment if we don't are best.

Lance of Nullity trades too much potential to just make Gisena slightly better at what she was already doing and taking Grand Nullification is like spitting in the face of Gisena Gang.
 
[X] Incident Nullification
[X] Opportunistic Raiding


My preferred choices for now. Get some allies we can boost with Chief Dominion, which increases our survival chances. And max potential for Gisena so she doesn't become irrelevant.
 
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