I'm not familiar enough enough with the lore regarding wells to make a comment on it, but I'm hoping it's talking about physical wells. The snippets I know of are connected to extremely unpleasant things.
The Wells of the Judgements are black holes containing tailor-made prisons/hells. The ones we know of contain a dead Judgement and its unwitting messenger-assassin (the Reach), the first Devil (Albion), the Fingerking prophet who killed the King Who Speaks, the other half of the Halved (Eleutheria), and enough Sorrow-Spiders to eat a Judgement (the Blue Kingdom).
I myself also know only snippets, but in Fallen London wells also have a lot of sinister motifs because Mr Candles' remains were thrown in a well, so they are connected to Mr. Eaten now. I'm almost sure this isn't relevant to us, though.
I myself also know only snippets, but in Fallen London wells also have a lot of sinister motifs because Mr Candles' remains were thrown in a well, so they are connected to Mr. Eaten now. I'm almost sure this isn't relevant to us, though.
Mr. Glass isn't one of the Bazaar's Curators, but I wouldn't rule out Mr. Candles as totally irrelevant, especially given what our action points are called, and the fact that Mr. Candles' domains also included dreams and mirrors.
We don't know how much Fallen London metaphysics we've brought with us - it's entirely possible they're both. "As above, so below" isn't a saying in FL - it's basically a law of physics. In Seas for instance, your Captain's dealings with the Friend from the Bureau areSalt's dealings with the White if you go East. Even if you never worked with the Bureau, they may or may not happen retroactively upon obtaining the Name.
I'm not that up on RWBY lore or the significance of wells in its context. Obviously not every connection is as powerful as the Name that Burns, but we can't rule out a connection that exists purely on the grounds of "they're all wells".
I'm not that up on RWBY lore or the significance of wells in its context. Obviously not every connection is as powerful as the Name that Burns, but we can't rule out a connection that exists purely on the grounds of "they're all wells".
Oh with RWBY wells they can mean the pools of pure destructive energy left behind by the dark brother that the Grim spawn from. Seems like that is more in line with what the other pictures are depicting.
Oh with RWBY wells they can mean the pools of pure destructive energy left behind by the dark brother that the Grim spawn from. Seems like that is more in line with what the other pictures are depicting.
Gonna go ahead and do a double update tonight since I'm feeling froggy.
Adhoc vote count started by The Bird on Feb 9, 2023 at 9:49 PM, finished with 32 posts and 20 votes.
[X] Plan Maxim 14
-[X] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork] x3
--[X] (First) Violant
--[X] (Then) Apocyan
--[X] (Finally) Gant
-[X] Ultimate Spelunking [Spelunkers Maps] -[X] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]
[X]Plan: Working From Home
-[X] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork]: You had a mirror full of the colors of Parabola. You had a creature comprised of what seemed to be blind, unyielding hatred. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to test some things out. Specify which Color of Parabola you intend to expose the Shadowbeast to. (Gant) (The color that remains when all else is eaten)
-[X] Dissecting the Shadowbeast [Red Science]:
-[X] Lightbreaking Ritual [Glasswork]:
-[X] The Writing on the Wall [Wordsmith]: Ignoring the Correspondance in the Mirror Pool room, the Temple was covered in glyphs. Studies made repeated reference to three things: the Shadowbeasts, floods, water, the Bipeds, and most concerningly, WELLS, but you had only scratched the surface. This is a Wordsmith project. 3/5 progress to gaining a Antediluvian Glyph. x2
Violant: 4; 5; 3; 1; 3; Two Successes
Apocyan: 3; 4; 5; 3; 3; Two Successes
Gant: 6; 2; 1; 1; 1; Two Successes
Continued experimentation produces all sorts of information. First, you expose the creature with Violant, which seems to utterly enrage it: you actually worry about it causing some small fraying in the fabric of your cloak from the way it thrashes. The longer you expose it to the Violant in your mirror, the worse it grows, to the point the creature actually manages to exhaust its throat from the sheer length and strength of its continual, droning roars, its voice guttering into wrathful and angry rasps. You aren't entirely sure if it has bones, but if it does, it probably broke a few.
Apocyan...Apocyan seems to make it...sad? Langor suffuses its body, and it causes the creatures body to go, for a moment, limp briefly, the energy leaving its form as it huffs on the hard stone floor of the temple.
Gant, meanwhile, doesn't seem to affect it one way or the other. At least, not Gant light: at most, it seems to confuse the creature, which you note is very rapidly exhausting itself, the last of its strength having been spent. Whatever vitality it had gained from Cosmogone, the exertion they had performed while under the effect of pure Violant light followed by the langour of Apocyan had more than made up for.
It isn't long before the thing dissolves like its brethren: one morning, you curl up to slumber, the next day, all that's left is a slowly dissolving pile where your cloak used to be.
3 Points of Research gained. One More Point until you can develop a Hypothesis.
You have lost your Captive Shadowbeast.
___________________________
Writing on the Wall: 6; 3; Two Successes
You manage to finish your study of the Temple, doing a thorough enough job that you have at least something of a hint as to the mythology this place was built to peddle. It is...less than comforting. It begins with the three additional motifs you had found. The first was a pair of intertwined serpents, one holding the sun, the other holding the moon: in most instances, they're conspicuously located above an orb you assume represents the planet.
The Aeginae. A pair of Nobles of Creation, Star-Drakes. You didn't know whether the depictions was literal or figurative, but there could be no mistaking them or what they represented. Hopefully, it was figurative: there were a thousand cultures that revered the Aeginae that had never been graced with their influence.
Of course, it was the second motif that concerned you. The only real cause provided for the floods. Another Aeginae, depicted as a roiling, chaotic storm descending on the world. What happens next is unclear, but SOMETHING occurs between the Dragons, and the next image that you can decipher shows what you can only assume is meant to be the third Aeginae, in pieces, scattered across the globe. It was at this point that the narrative seemed to jump: any location on the Mural where there might be a link between this visual prologue and the rest of the mural seems to have been grinded down, leaving only the latter half, when the shadowbeasts and bipeds start appearing, and the glyphs begin focusing on the cyclical conflict between the two groups and the flood that ended it.
And then you find your final motif. The bipeds, hand reaching out to a fruit held in the grasp of a serpent painted in stripes of yellow, black, and viric enamel. It's at this point that you begin running out of easily decipherable mural: the temple is old enough that much is faded, and you lack the tools or knowledge to try and restore it or decipher the knowledge that's missing.
____
Ultimate Spelunking
You've managed to explore the tunnels enough that you could safely say you had managed to assemble a decent ability to form mental maps. It would be better to have the tools to record the cartography, of course, but you had to make do with what you had. In truth, it isn't particularly hard: non-visual forms of sight such as echolocation required a fairly decent ability to model complex dimensions and spaces in your head anyways.
An Occurrence! You now have Cartography 1! This skill governs exploration, map-making, tricky navigation, and deciphering the maps of others!
____
Turn Four
You have five Candles!
Mr. Glass, a Revolutionary
Qualities:
Curator: You are not human. You are a locomotive sized chiropteran. You can take on, as needed, a smaller form to go unmolested and perform actions that require a degree of subtlety. But make no mistake: should you genuinely be threatened, you could unfurl to full size, a beast capable of wreaking havoc, and even disguised, your biology incomprehensibly strange.
A Desire For Reflection: Mirrors and Glasswork. The more prismatic, the more lightbending, the more reflective, the better. You instinctively have the urge to hoard these items. In your case, you do so in the form of Galleries: you have a special fondness for displaying your own work.
Never Fading Memory of Lost Love: It had been tattooed onto your brain in Violant, and so you would never be permitted to forget. It was a source of constant heartache, but also, in times of darkness or doubt, strength.
Skills:
Glasswork 4: A lore of manipulation employed by glassblowers, these rites call upon the crystalline nature of glass to manipulate Parabola itself. Bureaucracy 3: Technically correct was the best form of correct. Reflection 3: Ones ability to gaze beneath the surface and examine truths hidden just under ones own reflection. Wordsmithing 1: This talent governs words and ones ability to shape and craft them, forging them into perfectly honed arguments. Fiery Oratory 1: This talent governs fiery speech, intended to inflame and incite. Red Science 1: Arcane sciences governing the interaction between light and law. Cartography 1: The ability to assemble and decipher maps.
Artefacts:
Prismatic Parabolan Mirror: A shimmering mirror containing all the forbidden colors of Parabola. Should you need a particular shade of light, the Prismatic Mirror could produce it.
Grief Tainted Glass Music Box: It had been made as a gift. Your emotions and memories had tainted it, forcing those who listened to its tune to experience the same grief that had once crippled you long ago.
A Compendium of Revolutionary Texts: A gift from your revolutionary contacts, a compendium bound in Violant leather. It's eyes followed you around the room, and its jacket was lined with teeth, but this living book contained a variety of philosophical and economic treatise and manifestos written by some of the greatest thinkers of the Liberation.
Sympathies:
Industry 3: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with workers and overseers alike.
Revolutionaries 1: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with rebels, mutineers, and those who seek to upend the status quo.
Bats 1: This is the Sympathy that judges affinity with bats and other lesser chiroptera.
Subordinates:
Manifestation of Lost Love: A piece of yourself you'll never be able to leave behind given false flesh. Reduces chances of getting attacked in Parabola.
+++++++++
Assets:
2 Chiropteran Scouting Reports: A collection of reports by bats. Terribly imprecise, but it isn't unlikely to contain information you can't find elsewhere: Bat's were terribly subtle creatures, after all.
3 Spelunkers Map: A record of your underground explorations.
Dark Hint: Something unspeakable, harvested from the dreams of Shadowbeasts.
Forbidden Spectra: Research data collected by using the Parabolan Color Spectra on the Shadowbeasts.
Antediluvian Glyph: A forbidden record of primeval floods.
An Occurrence! You now have Someone is Approaching... 4!
Someone is coming. This is your last turn to prepare.
Available Projects:
[ ] Interrogate the Bats [Sympathy: Bats]: They knew things. The lay of the land. Geological oddities. Population centers. It would be less reliable and likely less precise than your own scouting, but likely safer, and the bats HAD lived here long enough to likely have a large collection of secrets. This is a IMPOSSIBLY SIMPLE (Threshold 1) test. It will yield a Chiropteran Scouting Report, a LOW VALUE piece of intelligence.
[ ] Perform Your Own Reconnaissance [Cartography]: The Judgements light didn't shine here. Hopefully, at least. You should be able to do a personal scouting of the skies outside the temple. More precise and reliable, but dangerous and you were likely to not collect near as much information. Generates minimum one progress to Vision of the Surface. On a successful RISKY Cartography Challenge (2 Successes), gain an additional point of progress.
[ ] Explore the Tunnels [Cartography]: They were too small to accommodate your full form, but your lesser one should fit fine, and you were reasonably confident nothing within could harm you, especially now that you've cleared out your unwanted guests. This is an IMPOSSIBLY SIMPLE (Threshold 1) Cartography challenge. Successes will generate Spelunkers Maps.
[ ] Lightbreaking Ritual [Glasswork]: This place was far enough from the light for the laws to be weak. You knew of secret rituals and rites that supposedly could sever them entirely. For a space as small as this, it would take much of yourself, but it should be accomplishable using only the Mirror Pool and your Prismatic Mirror. Allows further Glasswork and Red Science projects. 0/???
[ ] The Dreams of Bats [Glasswork]: You had to fortify The Parabolan half of your hideout. To do that, you would need resources: once more, the bats were an option. Their dreams, unawakened as they are, are fleeting and weak, but they would suffice in enough numbers. This is a Difficult (Threshold 3) Glasswork Check. Failure and success will offer rewards pilfered from the dreams of your chiropteran neighbors, though the latter is preferable.
[ ] Memories of Self [Reflection]: You could also use yourself. Painful, exhausting, but you were far sharper than any beast, and your memories would be far more dangerous. This is a Reflection project. 0/5 progress to gaining a Shard of Self, a high quality Reflection item.
[-] The Writing on the Wall [Archaeologist]: You needed knowledge and tools to pursue this further, and sadly you lacked both. Locked until Archeology 1 is acquired.
[-] Dissecting the Shadowbeast [Red Science]: It was, perhaps, an unnecessary expenditure of time at this juncture. However, it would provide valuable insight that, when you re-established communications, would serve as a fine bargaining chip. The trick would be finding a method to keep it alive long enough to extract useful information, considering how quickly these beings seemed to decay. This is a RISKY (3 Success Threshold) project, but completing it will transform your Bound Shadowbeast to a Shadowbeast Anatomic Study, a high value piece of intelligence. You will lose the Shadowbeast either way. Locked until a Bound Shadowbeast is acquired.
[-] Extract The Shadowbeasts Dreams [Glasswork]: A complete unknown in terms of risk, but it would allow you all sorts of insights into the mind of these beasts and whatever secrets they seemed to hold. This is a RISKY (3 Success Threshold) project: completion grants a Dark Hint or, rarely, a ???. Success or failure dramatically increases Fading. Locked until a Bound Shadowbeast is acquired.
[-] Expose the Shadowbeast to the Forbidden Spectra [Glasswork]: You had a mirror full of the colors of Parabola. You had a creature comprised of what seemed to be blind, unyielding hatred. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to test some things out. Specify which Color of Parabola you intend to expose the Shadowbeast to. Locked until a Bound Shadowbeast is acquired.
[ ] Hunting the Hunters [Curator]: You had done enough study. Time to go and test these creatures in battle. This is a VERY RISKY Blind Skill Challenge (2 Successes required). Success grants a Lesson Written in Bone, which can be used to increase combat skills or to acquire Bound Shadowbeasts.
[-] Ultimate Spelunking [Spelunkers Maps]: You had done enough underground exploration that you could certainly claim to have developed a bit of a knack for it. Spend ten of your Spelunkers Maps: in exchange, gain 1 point in the Cartographer skill, which governs exploration and travel. INSUFFICIENT MATERIALS.
[ ] Ultimate Archaeologist [Antediluvian Glyph]: You had done enough study of the Temple that you had learned to pry from it some of its more obscured secrets. Use your Antediluvian Glyph to gain a point of the Archeologist skill. This will not use up your Glyph.
[-] A Destination, Found! [Spelunkers Maps]: You had done enough underground exploration that you could safely say your local region was mostly safe, at least once you bricked up a few tunnels. However, your instincts screamed at you that you were close to discovering something: there had to be something of value in these caverns, after all. Spend three of your Spelunkers Maps: in exchange, gain one random Subterranean Route. INSUFFICIENT MATERIALS.
[ ] Explore the Glass City [Reflection]: Who built it? Why? It has symbols of both cats and snakes on it: two bitter enemies. Yet it doesn't fit the architecture of either side: this was not Fingerking construction and it certainly wasn't Cat construction. This is a RISKY (5 Successes) Reflection challenge. Success grants a random History or Glass item.
[X] Plan: Rolling Out The Welcome Mat -[X] Explore the Tunnels [Cartography]
-[X] Lightbreaking Ritual [Glasswork] x3
-[X] Ultimate Archaeologist [Antediluvian Glyph]
You've done a good job capturing the atmosphere of the series in my opinion.
It isn't long before the thing dissolves like its brethren: one morning, you curl up to slumber, the next day, all that's left is a slowly dissolving pile where your cloak used to be.
