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]