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A Simple Transaction I

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I occasionally post in other quests. There's Vesvius's The Path Unending and Mazrick's A Broken Age at the moment.
 
Also, something I just thought of, may have already been mentioned in the thread(updates tend to take place at sleep o clock for me, so I get here for the later ends of discussion.)

Ten Thousand Inhabited Worlds. Just take a nice long look at that.We've only got 2.5K Years here, so if we personally were trying to conquer worlds 1 at a time we'd have to manage 4 every year including this one. More and more I'm finding myself quite happy with Nightmare Praetor, because this setting is large enough that personal power might just take a backseat to the ability to set up and run a faction.
 
Rihaku can you by any chance mark off what vote won, it's sometimes hard to tell when i'm trying to catch up on updates. Which was the winning vote.
 
cheesyme said:
Also, something I just thought of, may have already been mentioned in the thread(updates tend to take place at sleep o clock for me, so I get here for the later ends of discussion.)

Ten Thousand Inhabited Worlds. Just take a nice long look at that.We've only got 2.5K Years here, so if we personally were trying to conquer worlds 1 at a time we'd have to manage 4 every year including this one. More and more I'm finding myself quite happy with Nightmare Praetor, because this setting is large enough that personal power might just take a backseat to the ability to set up and run a faction.
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Well, the nature of Progression is that it is far less subject to diminishing returns than ordinary forms of advancement...

There are many possible routes, some faster and safer than others! But personal power can yield victory, eventually, if clever decisions are made.
 
Doesn't look like anything happened in the posts since my earlier manual tally to change things, reposting it here. @Valkhir your vote of just Plan your Trip seems to vague to count for anything.

(26)Speak with Gisena I - Cheesyme, Maragas, Elero, PrimeNumber, Fumbles, TwistedJester, PurposefulZephyr, Kirbstomp, notgreat, Kurowari, Sickul, Unelemental, Crimson Moon, Genesys, Cerillian, Veekie, Koden, Xalvitor, sithmor, LordOfMurder, Chamocha, ImperatorV, Orm Embar, Dark Lord Bob, DarkSideBard, George

(23)Speak with Letrizia I - Maragas, PrimeNumber, Fumbles, DkArthas, MaouShoujoElla, ConjuredBlade, Kirbstomp, notgreat, Kurowari, Sickul, Unelemental, Crimson Moon, Genesys, Cerillian, Veekie, Koden, Box Lunch, Xalvitor, Aabcehmu, Chamocha, ImperatorV, DarkSideBard, George

(13)Errantry - Bilbo Baggins, PrimeNumber, PurposefulZephyr, Kirbstomp, Veekie, Koden, Shard, sithmor, Chamocha, Orm Embar, Savonarola, Dark Lord Bob, Talace

(12)Seek Worthy Opponents - Bilbo Baggins, Wolfy, ReaderOfFate, DkArthas, ThomasFoolery, Shard, Xalvitor, LordOfMurder, Orm Embar, Savonarola, Dark Lord Bob, Talace

(10)Speak with Gisena II - Cheesyme, Maragas, Elero, Fumbles, TwistedJester, PurposefulZephyr, Unelemental, sithmor, LordOfMurder, George

(8)The Name of the Curse - Cheesyme, Maragas, Elero, TwistedJester, DkArthas, ConjuredBlade, Cerillian, DarkSideBard

(7)Learn to Pilot - Wolfy, ReaderOfFate, Thomasfoolery, MaouShoujoElla, ConjuredBlade, Box Lunch, Aabcehmu

(6)Speak with Letrizia II - MaouShoujoElla, notgreat, Kurowari, Sickul, Crimson Moon, Genesys

(4)Errantry II - Bilbo Baggins, Shard, Savonarola, Talace

(4)Commune with Verschlengorge - Wolfy, ReaderOfFate, Thomasfoolery, Aabcehmu

(2)Seek out Artifacts - Box Lunch, ImperatorV




(8)Letrizia - PrimeNumber, ConjuredBlade, Crimson Moon, Koden, sithmor, Aabcehmu, Chamocha, George
(4)Zee - Unelemental, Genesys, Veekie, Zee
(2)Ritz - Fumbles, Box Lunch
(1)Zia - notgreat
(1)Letty - Cerillian
 
Inserted tally. Get gud scrubs.
Adhoc vote count started by DkArthas on May 23, 2020 at 3:10 PM, finished with 197 posts and 39 votes.
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Rihaku said:
Aside from her superhuman Attributes, Gisena doesn't have magic but the ability to destroy it! Perhaps the Maiden was trying to tell her something. Something like... the power of Nullity is so broken that it would be too strong if we put it in a combo with other Graces!
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If the Maiden wasn't so intent on avoiding the creation of a Hobbesian Leviathan, Jotarun might have been less of a threat! But I suppose if she hadn't splintered her power there wouldn't be Sorceresses in the first place, so eh. Putting Humpty Dumpty back together by exploiting the natural tendency of findross to Coalesce would've been an interesting exercise, if not exactly one conducive to humanity's survival.
Rihaku said:
The Geas would make that difficult, moreso if she is heavily bound to Hunger. But it would theoretically be possible for one or both of them to go, with sufficient mitigation.
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A bizarre adventure worth undertaking, but we can't afford to prioritize it. At least if Gisena's somehow still alive once this task is complete she'll be strong enough to do more than die Dutifully? Assuming the entire Manifest Realm's not just a Heroic training ground.
 
Fanwork#2984 Words

Reaction: "The Furthermost Reaches"

Rihaku said:
The Furthermost Reaches
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Given that we learn the name of the Predecessor species that left such a great mark on this realm, it's clear that the chapter name is a reference to them. Just that we're lost in the middle of nowhere when compared to the rest of explored space, or that this place was a frontier of a sort for them? Or perhaps that there is another, Furthermost race with a connection to this closed dimension, as is typical for sci-fi?

"Hm? Asking my opinion now? Consultations aren't free, you know," Gisena teased.

He scoffed. "Riding on my back isn't free either."
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I see Gisena's affinity for Heroes out of Legend remains undaunted in the face of this one's grumpiness. Maybe it's because this one isn't trying to enslave her!

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy that?" She giggled. "Well, I think it's a wonderful creation! I'd love to study it. But my realm didn't have anything like this. The technology's mostly a shell, isn't it? An accoutrement of the creature beneath."
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Now this is interesting. So the "bio" part is much more important than the "mechanical" part of the biomechanical robot. The Foremost had captured some kind of creature - like one of those invaders, only much stronger if one judges by the hidden power - and caged it in armor of steel and technology.

As they say, one does not simply make a giant robot. It's possible they were just bored and created some toys to pass the time, or maybe they had a civil war and the robots were used against each other, but I'm favoring another possibility. That they were fighting some terrible threat from beyond and the Devourer's current weakened state isn't just caused by lack of maintenance, - because apparently the steel is just for show, - but by the aftermath of a terrible battle.

And now that threat is ready to come back, drawn by the shadow of our dreadful presence and Curses like a moth to a flame!
Because that's how it always goes.

"There is power there. Far more than it's shown to us." Briefly he closed his eyes, reaching out with his instincts. It reminded him almost of the Tyrant, or of his own power at the very height, but much greater. Even the Tyrant was a mere tributary compared to the ocean that slept within this beast. Power of enormous scope, but of a tenor that was similar to his own. And yet like him it was diminished, wan shadow of its full potential. Not dammed, but run dry. And yet it would not take so terribly much for the deluge to come again.
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Hmm. Despite such a vast gulf of power, the Hero can still roughly judge the rough scope of it. I assume we have his prior experience to thank for that. Quantified World would have struggled in similar circumstances, methinks.

But of even more interest is the mention that it bears similarities to his own. If only we had a few more details! Since it mentions the Hero specifically, it's probably not just Accretion, or he would have said so. Would have been weird for the Devourer to be interested in fame anyway.

There are few possibilities left then. Either it's the kinship between the Devourer's nature and our Decimator's Affliction, or more outrageously, it had once been wielded by a Cursebearer. Honestly, I could imagine that, what Cursebearer doesn't want to pilot a giant robot at least once? I mean, we want to, so another that had visited this realm before would naturally have chosen the strongest specimen as his mount.

"Think it was holding back?"
 Gisena snapped him from his thoughts.

"No." He shook his head. "It's injured. Lessened."

"Probably safest just to observe and see if it does something," the Sorceress sighed. "How boring."
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What would it take to restore the thing to its full glory? Letting it devour enemies like its name suggests? Or is something more required? Can't wait to find out.

She turned to him. "So... Got a name?"


He scowled.

Gisena pouted. "I did tell you mine, you know. Noble title and all! That's valuable tactical intelligence." 

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Sure it is. We've learned so much about her that we couldn't have possibly found out from just looking at her and her performance. And her name has unique value in a world completely different from her own!

A name. He'd sacrificed his name, and claiming another at this juncture would just see it slip from his mind. But he needed something for others to call him, that was true enough. He looked down at his hand and the blade that it held. A pseudonym would hold, if it was memorable. Something practical. And yet even a pseudonym held power. Properly chosen, it could bind his objects more strongly to him, or establish that he was separate from them.
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So many Rihaku characters have sacrificed their names for power, I'm starting to suspect there is some dreadful secret hidden behind it, like names being the key to accessing some form of magic that would unbalance everything, say for example memetic warfare. Even the Accursed doesn't introduce himself with his name! Unless that's yet another Curse or he just can't be bothered.

How very practical of the Hero to choose his new title based on utility rather than anything else. When the Accursed warned us against becoming that which we despise, I'm fairly sure he didn't mean to dive into it headfirst. We take the Artifacts of the Tyrant family, the Tyrant's Doom, and now we use our pseudonym to control our Legend, just like the Tyrant himself. But at least we've got a new friend!

Something easy to recall. Something as familiar to him as the back of his hand.

"Hunger. Technically I'm a City Lord, but they've likely had me deposed."
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Straight and to the point. Just have to remind ourselves and other people periodically that we almost certainly aren't a dark lord! Don't pay attention to the villainous color scheme and strange personality quirks, dear citizens, we only have your best interests in mind.

Ah, and the City Lord title was probably part of the benefits package they'd tried to foist onto the Hero at first in the hopes that he won't make trouble. Yes, considering he'd been imprisoned and was waiting for death, that one is so much dust on the wind. Though does it mean he has some experience with actually governing something? Or did he try to implement Truth, Justice and Freedom immediately?

As he spoke, he felt the essence of the ring shift, become his in full, interlacing its nature with his own. Now, like a ring of power, he would only grow mightier and more cunning with time. Age would have no purchase upon him, and even the Tyrant's curse that had stolen his youth would be reversed and superseded. He hoped that taking this name would also bind the Decimator's Affliction, allowing him to exert some measure of control over it. That would be a priority in the near future.
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Would we have taken similar steps if we'd been a Force Unto? After all, that one deserves that much more to be called Lord Hunger, even should he not realize the advantages on his own thanks to lesser intelligence.

Accretion is awesome, but it does have some annoying properties. For example, if the Ring was just a magical Artifact, maybe we could have looked for ways to hide it - assuming it wasn't an attention whore like the Ring of Truth - but with Accretion's Legends we have to make the Ring obvious and even spread knowledge about its effects to some extent.

"Hunger?" Gisena said brightly. "Hm... Lord Hunger. I like it. It's only a little pretentious."

"More than a little. Don't be polite."
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Yeah, go ahead Gisena, we can take whatever you can dish out!

"Arrogant and a liar too! Why do I put up with you?"
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...You don't have to be so quick to obey. Or are these the qualities of a perfect minion shining through? Besides, the title is neither a lie nor exaggeration, it's entirely factual. We're underplaying things if anything.

"I'm a noble. It's to be expected."
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And the Hero doesn't pull his punches either, seeing how Gisena told him she's a noble too earlier.

It's not like he's bitter about the betrayal or anything, he just has a very good memory.

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

"Keep talking to yourself. It's better that way."

"Oh? Already in love with the sound of my voice?"
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I honestly can't tell if she's simply bantering or if Gisena really believes she's that irresistible. Normally I'd assume the first, but with Sorceresses the second might be a fact of life...

"A-ahem!" A voice boomed from the direction of the giant. "If you two are done flirting, we have important matters to take care of!" 


It was a girl's voice, clear and high, but somewhat stilted, as if forcing herself to sound authoritative.
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Naturally it's a teenager. Who else can pilot giant robots with any degree of proficiency? Also, no need to be envious, honey, you'll find a boy that likes you for who you are and not your giant robot yet.

"Sorry, we're not!" Gisena answered cheerfully.

"Huh?" 


"We're not done flirting. Isn't that what you asked? So, mind waiting a bit longer?"

"Ah! Um..."
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It's going to be quite awkward when we tell Gisena we have a dead wife we'll never betray no matter what.

"Speak for yourself," he grunted, turning to address the giant. "Are you the pilot of that creature? What's your business?"


"Thank you, my lord. Yes, I am. I'd like to come out and speak to you face-to-face. Will you give your word not to attack my person?"


"I won't attack unprovoked. Do as you please."
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Yeah, it's a bit sad we honestly can't promise something like that with the Doom of the Tyrant hanging over our head. But the Hero is smart enough to help others navigate the Curse without their awareness now.

Impressive that she's willing to trust the Hero on his word and isn't worried he would try to steal her mech or something. Can it act on its own or maybe remote controlled? That would explain some of her confidence, assuming she isn't just trusting blindly.

Steam hissed from countless apertures as the giant's head and chest moved forward, revealing its internals. A dizzying array of runes and glyphs coated every inch of its bio-mechanical interior, faintly emitting the pale, cold blue of a winter sky. Within was a capsule, which hissed open to reveal a young lady in a pale military jacket with accents of gold. Lean and long of limb, she had delicate, fine-boned features and eyes a shade lighter than Gisena's blue. A long shock of hair trailed nearly to her waist, white in color but with all the luster and texture of youth. She looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. In the fingers of her right hand she held a small text, a manual of some kind.
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'First Contact For Dummies'? They must encounter this sort of situation very often for such a book to simply be at hand inside the capsule. Even high-ranking military officers don't seem to have hand-held computers and are still using paper books for information storage.

As speculated previously, it seems to be some kind of magitech, juding by the magical script. Wonder what a wide-ranging Nullity attack would do to its interior and thus the control mechanism? Not that we'd ever do that, right, Gisena?

More importantly, anime hair! We're surrounded by anime hair on all sides and might develop some ourselves in the future! I can only sympathize with any biologist trying to explain evolutionary reasons for violet hair. Unless they can accept 'it's magic' as an explanation.

Emerging from the capsule, she hopped up, landing neatly on the giant's shoulder, leaning forward on one heavy boot.

"Ah!!" Gisena clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling. She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "She's so cute! Can we keep her, hun? Please?"
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We can't really adopt her, Gisena, she's a military officer! No matter how cute she is, we can't just decide such things on our own.

Is she reminded of Jeanne, I wonder? Or maybe just associating the mech pilot with a young Sorceress drawn into war.

"Do not call me that. And she's not your pet."

"Then, what should I call milord? 'Huney' has a certain ring to it... "
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Oh god, the puns are never going to end. Wait, does she actually know about the Ring? Her magical perception must be even more acute than I thought if she can discern the Ring's name from its magic.

...Do we have the equivalent of 'Doom of the Tyrant', 'Apocryphal Curse' and the rest of them tattooed on our forehead to her senses?

"Just Hunger is fine."

"What's this, a nobleman claiming to be just?"
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Our Decimation is completely equal-opportunity and doesn't differentiate between species, age, alignments or other factors. It's all come all welcome! Can't get more just than that.

"As you said. I'm a liar."

"You said you had business," he called to the girl, before Gisena could interject again.
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A shame, they seem to have some real chemistry. The Accursed is such an extraordinary matchmaker. The price is a bit steep, but I can't complain about the quality of service!

The girl nodded, stealing a glance at her manual before speaking. "You're outsiders, right? Come in through an Astral Rift? We're lucky we found each other. This place has certain properties making it difficult to navigate. Most outsiders who arrive here either die or are never seen from again, but my Armament," she gestured at the giant, "can bring us to civilization."
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She's getting cuter by the minute, following the proper procedures so assiduously!

Sounds like we ended up in the trash bin of the universe. Would have been in a bit of trouble if we had to do things on our own - though perhaps we would have devoured our way through this place until it spat us out. Unless Apocrypha procced, naturally.

"Okay. I'm listening."


"Well..." the girl frowned. "It's a lot to explain. Since we all look human and are even speaking English, I'm going to assume you're from a world with similar ontological parameters..."

"Hm." He had assumed the Accursed had given him a translation function.
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...I did too. Wait, does that mean the Geas doesn't come with a translation feature included? Oh sh*t, this is going to be such a headache in future worlds until we get some kind of magical translation power of our own. Especially with Hunger we can't rely on Progression learning out of combat. Heh.

Hunger: Ahh, the fresh air of an unconquered world, how I've missed this.
Local Knight: Who the hell are you and where did you come from?!
Hunger: Oh bother. Gisena, you don't recognize this guy's language either, do you?
Gisena: All I can say is that he's not very polite.
Local Knight: Stop with your magical spells or you'll regret it, witches!
Hunger: Patience, young man, have some respect for your elders.
Hunger: Then again, maybe I should just cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Hunger: Have at thee!

Gisena perked up. "In my realm it's called Angletierre, but I've been speaking it because everyone else has. My native language is actually Joanian."

He raised an eyebrow. That wasn't easy. "You have no accent. Impressive."

"Of course! I am a genius, after all."

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I'm facepalming so hard right now. I don't think Seram ever bothered about the language barrier or whether there were different languages in the Manifest Realm, that was how little he cared about social interaction. Now that was one fine master of social distancing.

On another note, are all these worlds really just dimensional variants of Earth? The Manifest Realm changed irrevocably by the presence of findross, this world by these Foremost, the Tyrant's world by Accretion. What a curious... coincidence, though it would explain how the Hero could simply 'stumble' into another world to some extent if there existed some kind of connection already.

You know, I just realized... we've only been promised freedom from the hidden masters if we pick Combat Cursebearer, presumably by either putting us far enough away distance-wise from their reach or just by marking us as off-bounds. So what if they're not as limited now? Maybe they can still reach us - especially with the Apocryphal Curse working in the background. Is that how we're going to fight them (initially) despite the Geas restricting us?

"Anyway!" The pilot said, "The place we're currently trapped is named the Voyaging Realm. We believe it's an artificial universe created by an ancient species who called themselves the Foremost. It's contained by an outer ring the size of a gas giant, with the space inside heavily spun, folded, and distorted. It's constantly shifting and some parts are dangerous. A small portion of the Realm is unaffected and humans have built a city and spaceport there. That's where I'm trying to go." She showed them a picture from her manual, depicting a highly advanced metropolis with towers of steel and glass, over which loomed a small flotilla of angular ships. If this was accurate, these people were far beyond the Earth of his time.
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And yet she doesn't have a mobile device of some kind at hand? Maybe I was too quick to judge and she simply lost hers or the Armament's magic presents some kind of interference with technology. Also, my plot senses are tingling! We should definitely explore this space distortion ring when we are less squishy and more capable of surviving its vagaries.

This universe is a lot more attractive than I previously thought. Not only do people from outside regularly land inside and thus possibly bring different magic systems we could learn with them, it has pretty incredible technology thanks to the Foremost. Maybe not all of it is transferable to other universes, but technology should be more reliable than magic in general, so we can benefit a lot from this place.

"Since my Armament is so badly weakened, I'd like your help making it there. In return you'll reach civilization and my government will probably pay you a hefty sum as well. If you're interested, we could even arrange longer-term employment. Rift outsiders with unique skills are always welcome. Any questions?"
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Money sounds nice. Regular employment, not so much. We're pretty much anti-government by dint of our Curses, so integrating is far from trivial.

"I don't work well with others," he said, "I'm happy to kill things for money, but I won't act under your chain of command. If that's fine, I've got a few more questions."

She nodded.
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And Nightmare Praetor shows his value again, explaining our circumstances without sounding too ridiculous. We might even have a shot at this cooperation thing without everything exploding in our face.

...Oh, who am I kidding?

But Gisena interrupted, practically vibrating with excitement. "What incredible technology! Flying ships! Cities that scrape the sky! This day has turned out far better than I thought. When I opened that Void I expected only death, not to be sent to another world out of my wildest dreams!"
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She seems a bit more genuine here, talking about a real passion of hers. Maybe the circumstances will even make a dent in her nihilism?

"Oh?" The girl cocked her head. "How did you two get here, if you don't mind my asking?"


"I used my powers to tear a hole through reality," Gisena explained. "I didn't think it would work, and almost burned out that Grace. I was trying to assassinate the.... hero of my world for murdering my sisters. It didn't go so well, so I had to run."
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Talk about tearing reality a new one. No wonder she was kicked out! We definitely got a more badass version of Gisena. I'm really curious about how things changed for her world after this.

"You're quite brave, Miss Gisena!" said the pilot. "And you, milord?" She turned to him.

He frowned. "I was the hero of my world and assassinated after I slew the Tyrant."

Gisena beamed, wrapping her arms around his left. "We're a perfect pair!"
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Behold the Hero, master of awkward silences! He's met his equal in Gisena though, who just steamrolls over any social opposition.

He shrugged her off. "This is the third dimension I've stumbled into. My home was a planet called Earth. We had a technological civilization, planes and satellites, but nothing truly interstellar. Tell me about your society. What volume of space do you occupy? How many stars do you control?"

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Asking out of pure curiosity, you understand. We have no ulterior motives whatsoever. It's not like we're taking notes for future conquest.

"Well, it's complicated," the pilot temporized. "The Human Sphere encompasses about ten thousand inhabited worlds, and includes another twenty thousand uninhabited systems used for resource extraction. The Realm we're standing in technically isn't a part of it, aside from our spaceport and city. The Sphere is divided into three polities, and the nation I'm from controls about twenty-seven hundred stars. But, I actually work for a jointly-funded agency supported by all three nations, so... like I said, it's complicated. It's not really relevant, none of the states has much power here!"
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So not only do we have to conquer and unify the Human Sphere, we have to preserve its dominion of all these tens of thousands worlds. All while everything is falling down around our ears. We're all going to die, aren't we?

Also, please don't tell me your organization is called NERV. My heart won't be able to take it.

"Fine. You mentioned a number of other hazards. Creatures like this dragon? Are they related to these Astral Rifts? Any strategic or tactical information we should be aware of?"

"Y-yes. How to explain this..." She mused, tapping her lip with a gloved finger. "So, your home world, you said you weren't interstellar. Were you bound by the speed of light?"


"We knew about it. We didn't have ships nearly that fast."
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Hmm, the Tyrant's world might have had some means of teleportation and the like though. Maybe we'll acquire something like that one day as another way to grow our Legend.

"Neither do we, really. Long-distance travel is mostly conducted with Astral technology, either supplementing our movements or tunneling directly into the Astral Realm. Doing this destabilizes the gradient between realities, sometimes creating rifts through which Astral denizens sometimes attack us. They're especially attracted to Armaments, which can forcibly re-stabilize that gradient in a large radius. Mine is so weakened that its beacon isn't strong, so we shouldn't have to deal with anything too serious, but the Voyager Realm also has a natural rate of rift incidence. That's where you guys came from."
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So they travel by punching holes in their reality? Seems legit. I'm getting uncomfortable flashbacks to Warhammer though. Are we certain there are no Demon Gods inhabiting this Astral Realm of theirs?

Huh. Now I'm asking myself if she intervened to defend the town when it was attacked or whether she was the one that attracted the dragon in the first place. She doesn't seem guilty enough for the latter, but one never knows with nobles.

In any case, their local magic is probably dependent on the Astral Realm, so it's of less interest than their magicless technology.

She hesitated, then continued to speak. "Any Astral denizens that appear from those in our vicinity are going to attack my Armament. The... dragon you fought was one. Additionally, there are some unusual creatures and societies in this Realm that are hostile to humans. Most of the creatures we encounter shouldn't be too terribly stronger than the dragon you killed. So, it'd really be safest if we traveled together! Especially if we could restore my Armament, even a little bit."
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Astral societies? Now color me interested. I think we found our first acceptable targets for Decimation if we don't find other ways of Mitigation. Might draw the wrong kind of attention from the Astral Realm's powerhouses too, but there are trade-offs with every choice.

"So. We're trapped in a pocket universe that's immeasurably vast, within which space shifts so that locations don't correspond to each other. It's partially inhabited by monsters, and Astral Rifts occasionally deposit more monsters, which will automatically attack if you're in the vicinity."

She nodded. "That's right."
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Sounds like another Tuesday to our Hero. The Geas sure knows where to place him, depositing Lord hunger directly in a dungeon so he can level up like a boss!

"So how can your 'Armament' navigate this place?"

She swallowed. "G-good question! Most Armaments are Foremost technology, mine included. There's an inbuilt navigational system for Foremost realms. I estimate it'll take us about t-two months to reach the city's staging grounds, give or take two weeks."
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How convenient! The Foremost sure knew their technology if it continues to function after all this time.

As far as he could tell, she was mostly sincere, though her time estimate was likely more certain than she felt. And if she wasn't lying, it would be difficult to escape this Realm alone.
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Since we need a certain amount of luck to get out of this realm, it's probably a good way to evade whatever Apocrypha is preparing for us in this place. We'll have to deal with whatever it cooks up in that city, of course, but it should have been less focused on that place as the less likely place we'd reach.

Hopefully trying to outthink the Curse isn't futile.

He glanced over at Gisena.

"Oh? Do I get a say in this, milord?"
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Why yes, we do pay attention to the opinions of our minions. Gisena isn't 5 years old, but she'll do in a pinch.

"No. I'm just looking at you for no reason."

"I do have that effect on people. And I'd love to go. So much technology to explore, it'll be exciting!"
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You know, nothing actually binds Gisena to us. We have a great deal of compatibility and make a mean team both in and out of combat, but there's the matter of the Curses that she seems to be entirely aware of. Would she think the team-up is worth the trouble - putting it mildly - if we don't work on our relationship?

He turned to the pilot. "Then we're in."

"Great!" She curtseyed neatly before them. "Duchess Letrizia von Artriez, pilot of the Devouring Armament, Verschlengorge. We'll be in your care."
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Oh my, partially german names for her Armament. Are we sure this isn't Evangelion's big brother we ended up in?

Gisena elegantly returned the curtsey with one of her own. "Pleased to meet you, Zea! We're going to be best friends. Now tell me... what's a 'planet?' By what principle are they organized into 'star systems?' And what's that to do with the speed of light?"

"M-Miss Gisena, one at a time, please!"
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Nobody is safe from Gisena's nicknames. Nobody!

And we could have explained some of that. N-not that we wanted to.

---

As you have taken Nightmare Praetor, the hero has chosen the mechanically optimal psuedonym of Hunger, Lord Hunger to those who acknowledge his title. Slightly increases advancement rate from Hunger. Grants opportunities for mitigation of the Decimator's Affliction in the future.
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As they say, if you can't beat them, join them. The Curse isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so we should make the best of our circumstances.

[ ] On Second Thought... - You're fairly certain that sufficient Rank would allow you to navigate this place easily on your own, and partnering with a giant, mostly useless target that attracts monsters is just begging for the Apocryphal Curse to put all of you in peril. Not worth it for a nebulous payment from her government that's only 'probably' going to occur. Best for you and Gisena both to encounter their civilization on your own terms, when you are stronger.

*Probably safer
*There should be plenty for you to explore around here
*You're still not sure why Vershlengorge has such an affinity for you.
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And miss out on the plot hook? As if! We've learned our lesson with Sylvie. The Devourer might not be a little girl, but I'm sure it's just hiding its delicate soul behind those plates of armor.

[ ] Plan Your Trip - Choose 3 options below.

Letrizia has supplies and advanced camping materials in her Armament, though you could probably live off the land.
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Does it have a kitchen sink?

[ ] Speak with Gisena I - Learn more about the Nullity Sorceress. The circumstances of your mutual arrival are suspicious. Inform her of your Curses and see if she can help. +Gisena
[ ] Speak with Gisena II - Speak on personal matters. Additional ++Gisena. Requires Speak With Gisena I.
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Curse Mitigation is almost a must. We should at least make sure our best shot at first level of Mitigation doesn't abandon us out of nowhere. And if we're doing that, maybe we could look for a way to help her advance in power? That would benefit both of us.

[ ] Speak with Letrizia I - The girl seems fairly intimidated by you. Perhaps you came off as harsh. Put her at ease. +Letrizia.
[ ] Speak with Letrizia II - Explain the matter of your affinity with Verschlengorge. Perhaps she has some insight? Req. Speak with Letrizia I. Additional ++Letrizia, ?
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There's a Main Character if I've ever seen one. Or maybe an important supporting one, but either way getting into her graces would prove advantageous. Good thing we made a social build!

[ ] Errantry - Perform various tasks for the people you encounter within the Voyaging Realm so as to more effectively forge your legend. Slowly increases Accretion Rank.
[ ] Errantry II - Perform more demanding, dangerous and time-consuming tasks. Increases Accretion Rank at a considerably faster clip. Risky. Requires Errantry.
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Champion Brand or no Champion Brand, side-quest are an inevitable part of life now, especially with Accretion in play. We're just not forced into doing them.

[ ] Learn to Pilot - As you are bound to the Ring Hunger, your learning speed outside battle is slightly worse than an average mortal's. The intricacies of the Armament are easy to learn, difficult to master, and many functions are incomplete or unavailable due to its state. Still, there is time enough for the fundamentals of movement.
[ ] Commune with Verschlengorge - There is something here, something of great import, though you feel little sense of urgency... Req. Learn to Pilot.
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Piloting seems to be the main theme of this place, and the power it offers will stay significant for a very long time. Besides, what can be more visually impressive than fighting in a giant robot? Maybe fighting one bare-handed...

[ ] Sleep Heavily - By default you will sleep 9 hours a day. Sleeping more increases the (at this time, fairly small) benefits accumulating from Might's Repose over time.
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I don't think options of this kind will be chosen anytime soon. So much to do, so little time.

[ ] The Name of the Curse - Attempt to exert some measure of control over the Decimator's Affliction, by the combined power of yourself and your Ring.
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It doesn't say the attempt will be dangerous at least, so that's something. A really attractive option too, might give us alternative offensive options that we're lacking currently. At the moment we're mainly slicing things to pieces, draining life would be another vector of attack, probably more difficult to defend against for the locals.

[ ] Seek out Artifacts - With wandering monsters and strange civilizations come objects of power, everyone knows that! And bereft of your armor, you could use a third object to complete your panoply. In theory any object can do, but a formidable artifact would grant greater bonuses. Not guaranteed to succeed.
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I'd be down with relying on luck if we still had our Plot Armor. As is it's just a plain dice roll, so pass.

[ ] Seek Worthy Opponents - Actively pursue rumors of powerful monsters & the like. Hunt them down to advance your Progression. +Stats. Risky.
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I don't have very good associations with that phrase. Wonder where that feeling of impending doom is coming from?

And now for the most important part of the vote. What to call Letrizia?

Req. Speak with Letrizia I

[ ] Letrizia
[ ] Zia
[ ] Zea
[ ] Zee
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Zia and Letrizia have some synergy with Gisena's pick, the first because it's her choice, the second to play as a contrast. Zea is the rebel choice of picking random letters from the name. is it the Doom of the Tyrant shining through? Then the last is the lazy choice of taking a single letter, as befitting of Repose's master.

What a difficult question! This might be one of the greatest challenges we've encountered yet, only exceeded by the trials of picking Aurelia's nickname!
 
We might not need consolidation. The Top three options seem to work well enough.
 
Rihaku said:
Oh, it's more than that...
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Well, that's not at all ominous. Now I kind of want to visit, see what he's done with the place, maybe have a practice run for Hunger's vengeance against the hidden masters by avenging the AU versions of AST 1.0's characters.

...wait, Jotarun of Yor. Yore, as in legend, as in his name literally advertises his origins. How am I just twigging to that pun years later?
 
DkArthas said:
We might not need consolidation. The Top three options seem to work well enough.
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They are absolutely terrible though. Second tier options are approximately twice as valuable as first tier options, and we are getting three first tiers instead getting one to second tier. I'm asking to see if there's need to go out of my way to repeatedly explain that to other posters until they pick Gisena or Letrizia II.
 
Unelemental said:
It's going to be quite awkward when we tell Gisena we have a dead wife we'll never betray no matter what.
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The voterbase may have something to say about that...

Unelemental said:
Impressive that she's willing to trust the Hero on his word and isn't worried he would try to steal her mech or something. Can it act on its own or maybe remote controlled? That would explain some of her confidence, assuming she isn't just trusting blindly.
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She's a Duchess! It's possible to live in battle and still be sheltered... by the likes of a giant robot!

Unelemental said:
'First Contact For Dummies'? They must encounter this sort of situation very often for such a book to simply be at hand inside the capsule. Even high-ranking military officers don't seem to have hand-held computers and are still using paper books for information storage.
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Reliability has advantages that convenience can't match, for independent field units! Plus, books are cute!

Unelemental said:
We can't really adopt her, Gisena, she's a military officer! No matter how cute she is, we can't just decide such things on our own.
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You'd certainly have to, since you wouldn't accept the decisions of others!

Unelemental said:
Oh god, the puns are never going to end. Wait, does she actually know about the Ring? Her magical perception must be even more acute than I thought if she can discern the Ring's name from its magic.
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You called yourself Hunger!

Unelemental said:
Hunger: Have at thee!
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It's a pretentious name, but I doubt he'd say that!!

Unelemental said:
On another note, are all these worlds really just dimensional variants of Earth? The Manifest Realm changed irrevocably by the presence of findross, this world by these Foremost
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The Voyaging Realm is definitely not Earth.

Unelemental said:
Is that how we're going to fight them (initially) despite the Geas restricting us?
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That wouldn't go well... for you.

Unelemental said:
And yet she doesn't have a mobile device of some kind at hand?
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Not every society is as obsessed with cell phones as our own!

These people are more technologically advanced, after all.

Unelemental said:
Huh. Now I'm asking myself if she intervened to defend the town when it was attacked or whether she was the one that attracted the dragon in the first place.
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Definitely the latter, given what she says. But it probably happens so frequently that it's a fact of life!

Unelemental said:
Astral societies? Now color me interested. I think we found our first acceptable targets for Decimation if we don't find other ways of Mitigation.
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Societies within the Voyaging Realm. Though there might be denizens of the Astral. Who knows?

Unelemental said:
And we could have explained some of that. N-not that we wanted to.
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The science of Earth is a pale shadow of the Human Sphere's! Planets probably aren't too different, though. Unless this counts as one.

Unelemental said:
What a difficult question! This might be one of the greatest challenges we've encountered yet, only exceeded by the trials of picking Aurelia's nickname!
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I have faith in you, thread! Though it looks like no nickname at all is winning at the moment...
 
Wolfy said:
They are absolutely terrible though. Second tier options are approximately twice as valuable as first tier options, and we are getting three first tiers instead getting one to second tier. I'm asking to see if there's need to go out of my way to repeatedly explain that to other posters until they pick Gisena or Letrizia II.
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I'm open to Letrizia II+Name of the Curse.

Edit: Also Gisena II+Name of the Curse with a slightly lower level of enthusiasm.

Edit2: For context I'm currently going for Letrizia I+Learn to Pilot+Name of the Curse
 
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Orm Embar said:
Well, that's not at all ominous. Now I kind of want to visit, see what he's done with the place, maybe have a practice run for Hunger's vengeance against the hidden masters by avenging the AU versions of AST 1.0's characters.

...wait, Jotarun of Yor. Yore, as in legend, as in his name literally advertises his origins. How am I just twigging to that pun years later?
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He had to differentiate himself from the Joestars somehow!
 
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