Abrogation (Steampunk)
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Locking the vote. Looks like Twirl won (barely). This is fortunate, as Gun's apparent nationality could've caused you problems in-universe. 
Yay! Anything but Diamond won!Locking the vote. Looks like Twirl won (barely). This is fortunate, as Gun's apparent nationality could've caused you problems in-universe.
Nolrai
weak to fangs
- Location
- Porltand
Alivaril is far far from the worst there.
No, but I don't care about the others, so it doesn't bother me. Well, with the exception of Maugan, but the ending of We Stand in Awe kinda burned me on him.
Chapter 1: UNACCEPTABLE.
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Winner: Twirl
Previously, you'd never realized just how painful running away would be.
...Oh, no, you're not talking about separating from your family. Honestly, you couldn't care less about them. No, you're more concerned about the state of your own posterior. On journeys of this length, you've always ridden in a carriage instead of on horseback. You can definitely see why.
Your Gift is only too happy to help you design a solution, but it's one you won't have the materials for any time soon. Strictly speaking, you don't need multiple gun emplacements, but you didn't really like the idea of making a carriage-sized clockwork groundstrider without them. Something in you just objects to the idea of making anything incapable of loudly defending itself. You blame your parents. If they hadn't kept stealing your projects, then maybe you wouldn't be so worried about someone trying to destroy them.
The eastern road network seems strangely ill-maintained; more than once, your increasingly exhausted steed stumbles and risks injury. What's more, you don't see any other people on the path for a good two full days of travel. You sincerely doubt it's because of your own attire or the appearance of your steed; even if you're about seventy percent certain it's a Construct, that little detail shouldn't be visible to the outside observer.
Your third afternoon is another story entirely. One filled with entirely too much bloodshed.
You hear the signs of other human beings well before you can actually see them. Unfortunately, they seem to be producing sounds which almost certainly don't belong to the everyday operation of a settled area: shouts, the hisses and cracking of weaponry, and screams. The last, more than anything else, is what tips you off that something's badly wrong. Shouts might be insults, battle cries, or anything else used to keep their own morale up whilst irritating their foes. Screams, though? Fused optimized for warfare shouldn't be able to feel anything more than the slightest twinges of pain. Certain schools of thought have argued that they should even enjoy warfare, although you've noticed a tendency for such Fused to develop a crippling mental dependency to the detriment of all. At least, that's your guess for why they began to rampage in the absence of any other conflicts. Warriors should be willing to do more than just battle eternally; no war lasts forever.
You're forced to dismount when your horse begins to get antsy. You search for a nearby stream, tie your horse to a tree nearby, and move on without it. You waste a few minutes finding an animal path through the woods; you have the distinct feeling you shouldn't spend any more time on the road than you have to. Fortunately, it doesn't take long for you to climb your way upward and observe the valley below. Unfortunately, what you find there is absolutely disgusting.
Two of what could charitably be called 'armies' are attempting to brutally murder one another. The process seems entirely too slow for what is clearly a conflict between Inspired; you can see slumped bronze clockwork marching against four-legged iron beasts. The strange parts arrive when you notice the distressing similarities between each model. As far as you can tell, each and every clockwork on a particular side is exactly the same.
That part, you could forgive. More than one of your own inventions have been intended to build smaller clockwork for as long as they were provided with the proper materials and components. The strange part comes from the uniformed, rifle-wielding peasants on both sides. The ones which fall from so much as a single steam-propelled bullet. And there are hundreds of them on each side, with signs of even more having been slain in the recent past.
The feeling of sheer revulsion only intensifies the longer you watch. As far as you can tell, the human combatants are all perfectly ordinary. No enhancements to their strength, their speed, their resilience. No synchronized movements to compensate for the weaknesses of their comrades. Nothing.
The clockwork war machines fighting beside them move with repetitive, stiff motions incapable of standing up to more than the slightest changes in their own frames. The tarnished bronze and iron comprising them is intended only to provide armoring. It doesn't harness the sunlight streaming from above to blind foes, transmit signals, or even to power their own systems. It's boring.
There is no glory to be found here. No satisfaction from seeing a well-built invention tear through the creations of your opponent. No point. Just mass-produced weapons wielded by a bunch of ignorant, terrified peasants, in a battle you can only assume is just as pointless. No Inspired worth the name would use perfectly good subjects as mere weapon-users. If they're going to be participants in a war between minds, the soldiers should be weapons. A single properly-built Fused could easily waltz across the battlefield without a care in the world. Or, if not one, a small squad at the very most.
Materials and time should be no excuse; if you can't find delicate enough components for your projects, you simply build devices capable of crafting them. Sure, a gear-making workbench isn't as flashy as a giant death ray, but why should an Inspired only focus on the present? Inventions should build off one another and there's a lot to be said for being able to make your own supplies. You should know.
Still, you're not quite sure what you're supposed to do about the battle below. The Iron Army seems to have pushed the Bronzes far enough back for you to sneak down and loot some of their damaged clockwork. The few damaged machines trying to claw their way toward the battle aren't really any threat to you; you don't even need to tap into your Gift to see multiple easy ways to disable them in rather short order.
That being said…
"You're as upset about this as I am, right? Maybe even more upset. The fools responsible for this are reveling in their own stupidity. They're wasting enough people to depopulate a respectably-sized fiefdom without giving them even the slightest combat enhancements beforehand. They don't need this many subjects for a simple weapon's test and those pieces of junk are barely even worth the name. They're probably just doing something moronic like trying to conquer more territory without any regard for actually making sure said territories remain even remotely useful."
You vaguely wave your hands toward the valley below.
"If you can help me make something worthy of being our first completed invention, we can stop this. Probably. I mean, we might have to go kill whatever passes as their leaders first, but if these are what passes as their weapons, that should be easy enough. The parts provided are pretty inferior, but when has that stopped us? As always, we just need time. Our movements will be relatively disguised by those of the damaged clockwork continuing to try to join the battlefield. A retreat of one or both sides could throw a wrench into our plans, but that should still leave us with a half-finished creation and the knowledge I need to complete it. And if we can actually finish it on time? We'll get to show those glorified uninspired why quality is more important than quantity."
A giddy giggle escapes your throat as your gift slowly stirs into wakefulness. To your surprise, it doesn't jump at the opportunity; instead, it seems outright cautious.
Inspired behavior.
You blink. That's new. In fact, you've never heard of anyone being given advice on any subject that couldn't be directly used for an invention. There isn't a lot of extra knowledge — simply that the word 'retreat' won't be part of your vocabulary as long as a Surge is going — but even giving you that much contradicts a good portion of what you know about Inspired. Provided, no books mentioned Inspired talking to their own gifts, either, but you've always assumed that's something people just assume everyone else already knows. After all, aren't Inspired often accused of being inhabited by demons? How would that make any sense if gifts were unintelligent?
You shake your head. Speculation on the nature of your gift can wait. You can feel the tingling signs of a Surge at the back of your head, yet your gift seems to be holding it back. You get the feeling it'll give you full access if you ask, but it wants to be positive you're willing to pursue the idea.
Surge Mechanics.
...And you'll apparently be untouchable as long as the Surge is going. You never did finish the invention born from your birth as an Inspired, nor have you completed anything since. That, in of itself, gives you power. Available materials barely even matter; all you need is a song and a big enough audience to give it power.
To spite the gods,
Despite the odds,
Reach for the sky.
[] Turn around and leave. As much as you like the idea of thwarting two fools misusing their gifts, there's no denying that a battlefield is inherently dangerous. The clockwork might not be much of a threat, but the people? They could be problems.
-[] Search for a town or city. Surely even these Inspired aren't stupid enough to stifle trade, right? You should have enough money to buy enough parts for a few small inventions.
-[] Avoid civilization until you've likely left the territory of the warring Inspired. Any area needing to deal with them probably won't be too happy to see yet another Inspired.
[] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[] Write-in
QM's Note: Choices for different projects will be offered if "Start the Surge" wins.
Previously, you'd never realized just how painful running away would be.
...Oh, no, you're not talking about separating from your family. Honestly, you couldn't care less about them. No, you're more concerned about the state of your own posterior. On journeys of this length, you've always ridden in a carriage instead of on horseback. You can definitely see why.
Your Gift is only too happy to help you design a solution, but it's one you won't have the materials for any time soon. Strictly speaking, you don't need multiple gun emplacements, but you didn't really like the idea of making a carriage-sized clockwork groundstrider without them. Something in you just objects to the idea of making anything incapable of loudly defending itself. You blame your parents. If they hadn't kept stealing your projects, then maybe you wouldn't be so worried about someone trying to destroy them.
(Project Planned: Armored Strider Mark III [Clockwork, Steam])
The eastern road network seems strangely ill-maintained; more than once, your increasingly exhausted steed stumbles and risks injury. What's more, you don't see any other people on the path for a good two full days of travel. You sincerely doubt it's because of your own attire or the appearance of your steed; even if you're about seventy percent certain it's a Construct, that little detail shouldn't be visible to the outside observer.
Your third afternoon is another story entirely. One filled with entirely too much bloodshed.
You hear the signs of other human beings well before you can actually see them. Unfortunately, they seem to be producing sounds which almost certainly don't belong to the everyday operation of a settled area: shouts, the hisses and cracking of weaponry, and screams. The last, more than anything else, is what tips you off that something's badly wrong. Shouts might be insults, battle cries, or anything else used to keep their own morale up whilst irritating their foes. Screams, though? Fused optimized for warfare shouldn't be able to feel anything more than the slightest twinges of pain. Certain schools of thought have argued that they should even enjoy warfare, although you've noticed a tendency for such Fused to develop a crippling mental dependency to the detriment of all. At least, that's your guess for why they began to rampage in the absence of any other conflicts. Warriors should be willing to do more than just battle eternally; no war lasts forever.
You're forced to dismount when your horse begins to get antsy. You search for a nearby stream, tie your horse to a tree nearby, and move on without it. You waste a few minutes finding an animal path through the woods; you have the distinct feeling you shouldn't spend any more time on the road than you have to. Fortunately, it doesn't take long for you to climb your way upward and observe the valley below. Unfortunately, what you find there is absolutely disgusting.
Two of what could charitably be called 'armies' are attempting to brutally murder one another. The process seems entirely too slow for what is clearly a conflict between Inspired; you can see slumped bronze clockwork marching against four-legged iron beasts. The strange parts arrive when you notice the distressing similarities between each model. As far as you can tell, each and every clockwork on a particular side is exactly the same.
That part, you could forgive. More than one of your own inventions have been intended to build smaller clockwork for as long as they were provided with the proper materials and components. The strange part comes from the uniformed, rifle-wielding peasants on both sides. The ones which fall from so much as a single steam-propelled bullet. And there are hundreds of them on each side, with signs of even more having been slain in the recent past.
The feeling of sheer revulsion only intensifies the longer you watch. As far as you can tell, the human combatants are all perfectly ordinary. No enhancements to their strength, their speed, their resilience. No synchronized movements to compensate for the weaknesses of their comrades. Nothing.
The clockwork war machines fighting beside them move with repetitive, stiff motions incapable of standing up to more than the slightest changes in their own frames. The tarnished bronze and iron comprising them is intended only to provide armoring. It doesn't harness the sunlight streaming from above to blind foes, transmit signals, or even to power their own systems. It's boring.
There is no glory to be found here. No satisfaction from seeing a well-built invention tear through the creations of your opponent. No point. Just mass-produced weapons wielded by a bunch of ignorant, terrified peasants, in a battle you can only assume is just as pointless. No Inspired worth the name would use perfectly good subjects as mere weapon-users. If they're going to be participants in a war between minds, the soldiers should be weapons. A single properly-built Fused could easily waltz across the battlefield without a care in the world. Or, if not one, a small squad at the very most.
Materials and time should be no excuse; if you can't find delicate enough components for your projects, you simply build devices capable of crafting them. Sure, a gear-making workbench isn't as flashy as a giant death ray, but why should an Inspired only focus on the present? Inventions should build off one another and there's a lot to be said for being able to make your own supplies. You should know.
Still, you're not quite sure what you're supposed to do about the battle below. The Iron Army seems to have pushed the Bronzes far enough back for you to sneak down and loot some of their damaged clockwork. The few damaged machines trying to claw their way toward the battle aren't really any threat to you; you don't even need to tap into your Gift to see multiple easy ways to disable them in rather short order.
That being said…
"You're as upset about this as I am, right? Maybe even more upset. The fools responsible for this are reveling in their own stupidity. They're wasting enough people to depopulate a respectably-sized fiefdom without giving them even the slightest combat enhancements beforehand. They don't need this many subjects for a simple weapon's test and those pieces of junk are barely even worth the name. They're probably just doing something moronic like trying to conquer more territory without any regard for actually making sure said territories remain even remotely useful."
You vaguely wave your hands toward the valley below.
"If you can help me make something worthy of being our first completed invention, we can stop this. Probably. I mean, we might have to go kill whatever passes as their leaders first, but if these are what passes as their weapons, that should be easy enough. The parts provided are pretty inferior, but when has that stopped us? As always, we just need time. Our movements will be relatively disguised by those of the damaged clockwork continuing to try to join the battlefield. A retreat of one or both sides could throw a wrench into our plans, but that should still leave us with a half-finished creation and the knowledge I need to complete it. And if we can actually finish it on time? We'll get to show those glorified uninspired why quality is more important than quantity."
A giddy giggle escapes your throat as your gift slowly stirs into wakefulness. To your surprise, it doesn't jump at the opportunity; instead, it seems outright cautious.
Inspired behavior.
You blink. That's new. In fact, you've never heard of anyone being given advice on any subject that couldn't be directly used for an invention. There isn't a lot of extra knowledge — simply that the word 'retreat' won't be part of your vocabulary as long as a Surge is going — but even giving you that much contradicts a good portion of what you know about Inspired. Provided, no books mentioned Inspired talking to their own gifts, either, but you've always assumed that's something people just assume everyone else already knows. After all, aren't Inspired often accused of being inhabited by demons? How would that make any sense if gifts were unintelligent?
You shake your head. Speculation on the nature of your gift can wait. You can feel the tingling signs of a Surge at the back of your head, yet your gift seems to be holding it back. You get the feeling it'll give you full access if you ask, but it wants to be positive you're willing to pursue the idea.
Surge Mechanics.
...And you'll apparently be untouchable as long as the Surge is going. You never did finish the invention born from your birth as an Inspired, nor have you completed anything since. That, in of itself, gives you power. Available materials barely even matter; all you need is a song and a big enough audience to give it power.
To spite the gods,
Despite the odds,
Reach for the sky.
[] Turn around and leave. As much as you like the idea of thwarting two fools misusing their gifts, there's no denying that a battlefield is inherently dangerous. The clockwork might not be much of a threat, but the people? They could be problems.
-[] Search for a town or city. Surely even these Inspired aren't stupid enough to stifle trade, right? You should have enough money to buy enough parts for a few small inventions.
-[] Avoid civilization until you've likely left the territory of the warring Inspired. Any area needing to deal with them probably won't be too happy to see yet another Inspired.
[] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[] Write-in
QM's Note: Choices for different projects will be offered if "Start the Surge" wins.
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Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
I guess this is the tutorial encounter?
Either way, I like the way our choice of direction has turned out. A bunch of weak-ass Inspired laying waste to the landscape, terrorized peasants, total chaos… we can go far here.
On the one hand, I'm worried that going off like this is a bit too early. On the other hand, this might be the opportunity we need. Our path to victory is to establish ourselves quickly enough, solidly enough, and publicly enough that our parents can't simply suppress us. This is the perfect environment for that - we can walk through the Inspired here like they're not even there and own the place before our parents can do anything about it. So this is a risk-reward play. We could go now and start booming as hard and fast as we can, not caring about subtlety at all, and hope that this is enough of a boost that we can win the race. Or we could wait a bit, find a city, and then do one of those "fill the sewers with monsters and seize the city in a day" jobs. Or something else like that, spend some time building up to maximize the time from going loud to being in place.
I see the beginnings of the crafting system here, I think? We'll have tags like "Clockwork" and "Steam" on projecting indicating what kinds of parts they require, and parts that we find will be marked with tags that indicate what projects they can be used in? So a valve array might be [Steam, Fluidics], a pile of gears would be [Clockwork, Steam], and a scavenged flamethrower might be something like [Steam, High-Temperature]?
She's right, this is disgusting. Whatever we do, I don't think that we're leaving until these idiots are done.
Hmm. It looks like we get one of those "fast start" resource stockpiles like in an RTS game, a one-off high-power build that can get an Inspired off the ground even if they break through, say, right in the middle of an active battlefield? @Alivaril: Can we save that, or will it necessarily go off on our first Surge?
Either way, I like the way our choice of direction has turned out. A bunch of weak-ass Inspired laying waste to the landscape, terrorized peasants, total chaos… we can go far here.
On the one hand, I'm worried that going off like this is a bit too early. On the other hand, this might be the opportunity we need. Our path to victory is to establish ourselves quickly enough, solidly enough, and publicly enough that our parents can't simply suppress us. This is the perfect environment for that - we can walk through the Inspired here like they're not even there and own the place before our parents can do anything about it. So this is a risk-reward play. We could go now and start booming as hard and fast as we can, not caring about subtlety at all, and hope that this is enough of a boost that we can win the race. Or we could wait a bit, find a city, and then do one of those "fill the sewers with monsters and seize the city in a day" jobs. Or something else like that, spend some time building up to maximize the time from going loud to being in place.
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Nixeu
Lord of Madness, Harbinger of Llamas
- Location
- Your nightmares.
As amusing as that mental image is, you probably meant 'antsy'.
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You think it depends on what you build beforehand. Once you complete something powerful or flashy enough, it'll be counted as your first creation regardless of if you took full advantage of available resources. Smaller, simpler projects might not waste the chance.
I'm half-tempted to leave that simply because I found it hilarious upon discovery. Fixed, though. The alternative will be preserved in yer quote.
Kai Merah
Hound Hearted Hedonist
- Location
- Somewhere in the corners of my imagination
... Is our power telling us we can waltz on to this battlefield and create something worthy of dominating it while being utterly immune to anything trying to stop us until we're done?
... We need to find a bigger battlefield, ASAP. We can't waste our first project bonus on something that will merely overrun these hacks. We need stronger opponents so our first creation is truly a titan worthy of the name.
... We need to find a bigger battlefield, ASAP. We can't waste our first project bonus on something that will merely overrun these hacks. We need stronger opponents so our first creation is truly a titan worthy of the name.
Nixeu
Lord of Madness, Harbinger of Llamas
- Location
- Your nightmares.
*returns to horse after battle*
"...Seriously? Who puts eye-liner on someone's horse?"
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
[X] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
At this point of the quest is when we take risks. Ignition would have never gotten Agneyastra if we had played it safe at the beginning.
At this point of the quest is when we take risks. Ignition would have never gotten Agneyastra if we had played it safe at the beginning.
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
EDIT: I've been informed this setting qualifies as Gaslamp Fantasy. Pick whichever term you prefer.
You don't think the strength of present foes actually matters; having a large audience present makes the largest difference, with diminishing returns as more and more people are dragged in. It doesn't even have to be a hostile audience. Strictly speaking, a sufficiently detailed rant might do an adequate job, but a song should be more effective at getting their minds to travel along the same tracks. You're not sure why that part is important, only that it is.
You don't think the strength of present foes actually matters; having a large audience present makes the largest difference, with diminishing returns as more and more people are dragged in. It doesn't even have to be a hostile audience. Strictly speaking, a sufficiently detailed rant might do an adequate job, but a song should be more effective at getting their minds to travel along the same tracks. You're not sure why that part is important, only that it is.
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globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
lets do this !
[x] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[x] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
*Heterodyne intensifies*
Seems like this might be one of those "belief influences reality" universes, and Inspiration is some kind of symbiotic infomorph that's learned to influence belief to create an optimal environment for itself?
A neighilist, obviously.
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Kai Merah
Hound Hearted Hedonist
- Location
- Somewhere in the corners of my imagination
Hmm. This battlefield has hundreds of peasants on each side. Unless there's a thriving metropolis around here that has somehow managed to remain hidden, or we manage to find an even bigger and more wasteful battlefield, I think this is the best chance we're getting for a truly glorious first project.
[X] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
EDIT: My only concern about making a big splash like this is that there must be some reason this place hadn't been conquered by actually competent Inspired yet. It might be wiser to lie low until we properly figure out the situation in these parts, but I'm a little too tempted by the massive first project bonus.
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Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
Ahah, I knew something felt weird, thank you for catching that. Why haven't our parents taken this place over? There must be some reason that they've left it this way. Is it not worth it for some reason? If they're preserving it in a state that makes it easy to take over, who are they providing that opening for?
kinigget
Best Demon
- Location
- People's Republic of Portland
We could hold it in and try to find a bigger battlefield, but this one is right here in front of us right now, lets make the most of this opportunity, shall we?
[X] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
[X] Let your gift start the Surge and start making your way down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.