Dare to Accomplish Wonders [Isekai Quest] <Birdsie Quest>
- Thread starter Birdsie
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Chapter 7: Sight & Wonder
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Chapter 7: Sight & Wonder
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20th of Goldleaf, 1310
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20th of Goldleaf, 1310
Cherry croissant, aged goat cheese, strawberry tart, smoked veal, white bread, cream soup, and, of course, cheesecake.
That's just an example of the average high-energy breakfast that the Lightbrooks often lavished in. Anything not consumed by them was left for the staff to finish later; just one of the job benefits, Lazara guessed. Sylvester always seemed eager to dig into the strawberry tart and frankly, Lazara could see his point. The tart was godsdamned delicious; she was half-convinced that getting blackmail material on Efar just to get the recipe was a good idea.
The breakfast took place in the smaller dining room on the ground floor of the mansion; a short table with eight chairs; three for two sides and two at both ends. The room was lit by a wide, six-sectioned window on one side.
The table was flanked on both sides by an evenly-divided squadron of three maids, two chefs, and the Lord's butler.
The Lightbrook household didn't have a formally-appointed housekeeper, but the de facto 'leader of the maids' was Nellie. Father refused to call her 'Ms. Blazebloom,' until she got married, and by extension, he refused to appoint her as Housekeeper. Nonetheless, she had the informal honor of being the second-in-command of the staff, and stood next to the butler.
Frankly, Lazara felt it strange to consume her meal while the servants watched and had to cruelly maintain posture in place without eating until the family was finished. Out of sympathy for them, she always ate quickly, which actually worsened the dining experience. Lazara would never understand or agree with some of the noble customs.
Still, she was careful not to slurp as she partook in the chicken barley stew sprinkled with feta cheese. Mother would hate that, and father would probably send her to her room for the sin of grating his ears with such a vulgar audibility.
Speaking of...
Daevina, seated to Lazara's right, gave her husband a meaningful look.
Lord Lightbrook ignored it at first in favor of the chocolate parfait, but then blinked once he realized his wife's attention was centered upon him. He looked up.
"Dear," Daevina started, "has Lazara told you of her intent to go to a magic academy?"
Pholion Lightbrook, lord of the Lightbrook province sputtered and spat out a piece of chocolate. One of the maids moved to clean it up, while he stared at his daughter.
"Is that true?"
Lazara nodded, looking him in the eyes. Without fear, she said, "Yes."
He took on a contemplative look, then a bite of his meal. After chewing and swallowing, Lord Lightbrook kept still for several, long moments. Finally, he gave a single nod along with his verdict, "I don't mind the idea. If that's the future you fancy, I will support it. Provided the academy is of sufficient esteem; I'd never allow any daughter of mine to study in the gutter."
"Of course."
With that, the breakfast went by with ease, as well as a bit of back-and-forth between family members. Finally, Lazara asked the question that would be the stage one of her ingenious plan.
"Father, would I be allowed to go out by myself, unsupervised by the guard?"
Lightbrook frowned. "Why?"
"I can protect myself," she stated, with just the tiniest pinch of smugness. "Between Matrim's teachings and having learned how to weaponize light itself, my self-defense skills are perfectly adequate." Lazara smiled at him proudly, like a preening cat expecting a congratulation, or at the very least, a good measure of stunned silence.
Lightbrook stared forward blankly. "My daughter going outside by herself? Weaponizing the sun's holy light?" he asked, no one in particular.
After a moment of his eyes darting across empty space, he muttered something that may or may not have been, 'I believe this qualifies as an early warning sign for the apocalypse.'
"Dad?"
He snapped back to Lazara and blinked once. "Yes... Yes, yes. You can go out." He stared forward again, expressionless as a board, muttering things under his nose and taking bites of the chocolate parfait.
Lazara hazarded a glance at her mother. The Lady of House Lightbrook was just as surprised as her daughter at the Lord's strange behavior.
From across the dining chamber, at an angle where Lord Lightbrook couldn't see, Nellie Blazebloom - the Lady's favorite maid - made swirly gestures around her head with one finger, while the other maid next to her mimicked an expression of taking pills straight from a bottle and shaking her head.
Daevina and Lazara stared at them for several, long seconds.
Mother and daughter both facepalmed.
###
"This is awesome," Lazara whispered, wide-eyed as she took off into Twinkle Peaks. The small cobblestone road leading in was surrounded by a green field with bushes and flowers scattered about.
As soon as they saw the expensive dress she wore, the guards let her into town without argument, and Lazara went off in her search of compatriots.
She wasn't stupid, of course, constantly making sure she wasn't being tailed. The Enlightening Glasses didn't pick up on anyone following her, but being careful helped. At some point, when going into town, she was pretty sure she saw a snake staring at her from the bushes, but decided to brush it off as the seldom-apparent but ever-present creepiness of life.
To her pleasant surprise, the town-children were eager to meet her, and she became something of a social celebrity.
The darker parts of her mind whispered it was because she was rich and of high status, as well as beautiful and generally exotic by their commoner standards, but the less cynical parts desperately imagined it was because of her great and affable personality.
While the boys went off to play some strange game (it involved kicking a ball of inflated leather around and trying to get it to go between two poles,) Lazara and the local girls sat on a stone fence bordering one of the outer exits of the town and conversed with each other.
"What are your parents like?" asked Daria, daughter of a minor goods merchant.
Lazara shrugged. "Dad's rather distant and strict, but he loves me. Mom is a bit more straightforward, but maintains a veneer of civility."
"Ve... hneer?" one of the girls asked, raising an eyebrow in the opposite of understanding.
"It means an appearance, or a semblance," cut in another one. Alice, was her name? The name was familiar from somewhere else, but Lazara wasn't sure."A veneer of civility means she acts civil and formal."
"Yes," Lazara confirmed, and the group nodded in understanding. She looked at Alice appraisingly, then lifted her nose and narrowed her eyes just a little; an appearance of superiority. "You're well-learned to know such language," she stated bluntly, and with a subtone of blank surprise; lacking any strong impression.
Alice simply grinned. "Quite so, Your Excellency."
The girl made an exaggerated bow, with a flourish of the hand. The girls looked rather surprised and confused by the movement, not having knowledge of what proper etiquette is. Lazara was internally surprised at Alice's awareness but didn't show it, especially with the almost jokingly direspectful and casual method she bowed in.
Lazara scoffed, "Save that for the pope."
"I've heard they're electing a new one," a girl with brown hair cut in. Lazara forgot her name, but knew it started with a 'C.' Caroline? Caramella? "Apparently he's even younger than all of us!"
"Wait, what?" Lazara did a double take. "How young is he?"
"Eight," Alice interjected, sitting beside Lazara with a friendly smile.
"How, though!? How is he supposed to run a whole temple all by himself, let alone every religion united?"
Alice took on a bemused expression, with a hint of satisfied glee, as she explained, "He won't actually run it, at least for now. The cardinals are supposed to take care of his education until he's ten. Then he'll run it."
She grinned to Lazara's dismay.
How did I not hear of this? she questioned. Lazara wasn't very involved in politics, despite being a noble lady, but an eight-year-old pope sounded like something she'd hear of... maybe she had?
"What's his name?"
"Theomach... uhm... Claudius Pallas Julius Alcendence? I think?" Alice shrugged with a slight pout. "I think Julius was his original, 'before-being-pope' name, and the other three got added after. Not sure about the surname, 'Alcendence,' though. It's either his actual surname or got added, but I'm not sure how that works."
Alice gave Lazara a questioning look, but Lazara simply shrugged as if to say, 'I don't know either.'
Alice grinned suddenly, and began to regale them in a refreshed and excited voice, "Apparently, he actually protested to having the first name be Theomach because it ruined the way that every name after it ends with 's.' He was pushing to be called Decimus, but the cardinals repealed that very quickly because it means 'tenth' in another language and implied that he was the absolute boss of all Ten Churches. Cocky, isn't he?"
"Huh." Lazara stared forward for a moment. She never heard of him, and a pope who got into a casual disagreement with the Ten Cardinals so soon in his career - as an eight-year-old boy - was something of an anomaly.
Lazara decided to change the topic before her world knowledge was put to shame by a bunch of villagers again. "Anyway, you girls wanna see a magic trick?"
"Magic? Cool! My dad can, like, tell fake items apart from real ones and he says it's magical, but he's not like, you know, an actual mage! What can you do?" Daria asked, in an obnoxious tone, bizarrely full of reverence and worship. Lazara felt like she was the pope.
"Alright. Look at this." Lazara stood up and stepped closer to the soccer pitch the boys were playing on. "I'll show you a spell called 'Mirage.' One, two, three, and..."
Suddenly, the boys - playing the game normally up to that point - started falling to the ground as they kicked balls that didn't actually exist. Some of the smarter or more coordinated ones managed to stay upright, but a good third of them fell.
The girls laughed with snooty glee properly suited to superior gender, while their male counterparts began to groan and glare at them. High-fives began to pass among the former, victorious team - most of them steered to Lazara who scored this one for Team Ovular.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the bushes, a snake stuck his tongue out and made a hissing sound, before slithering away in contention at the collected blackmail material. Lazara didn't notice this.
###
21st of Goldleaf, 1310
21st of Goldleaf, 1310
Lazara installed a new step to her everyday magical training.
After every lesson with Belladonna, she'd remain in the workshop for roughly an hour for the express purpose of crafting magical items that she intended to sell (for a discount,) to the Marshall's Office.
She'd already convinced her surprised - pleasantly so - parents to schedule a meeting with a secretary of the office, as well as the representatives of several noble families to show off her creations, but she needed to prepare prototypes of everything she wanted to sell. If she could impress any of them, it was possible she might gorge the already considerable Lightbrook treasury with a surplus of coinage, and maybe - just maybe - get a sliver of attention from the king.
Now, that was a ticket to quick influence.
The general idea with magical items is that if you can cast a spell, you can almost certainly turn it into a magical item. If you can't cast a spell, you can still probably turn it into a magical item.
The problem is the power source. A mage with pools of mana might not find issues carrying around a few wands and using them to cast, but a normie will quickly find his soul rebelling against his attempts of draining it like a psychic vampire and will get headaches and bleed from his orifices as a result.
So she needed to improvise, and find ways of fueling the tools safely. Fortunately, the first item was the easiest in that regard.
There were alchemical bombs capable of exploding concussively, with fire, or with bright light.
Lazara decided to recreate the last item, but using only her natural magic instead of alchemy. She'd imbue them with magical energy set to turn into light and sound when broken, meant to stun anyone in the area. She created three for demonstration purposes and experimented on a more advanced model that could be set to not affect anyone past a certain radius, or anyone the thrower didn't want to affect, but making that particular miracle happen was... difficult - and cost her an eardrum in the process (quickly amended by Sylvester's healing magic, of course.)
Another object was a small tube with a photonic crystal that drew on energy from the user to charge itself. It could then be turned on to produce a low-intensity cone of light, meant to provide illumination instead of a lantern, torch, or whatever else. She made the battery work in such a way that it always produced a low mana drain on the user - very, very low mana drain - so it kept charging as long as someone was attuned to it. Since they were unlikely to be used in the day too often, that meant they had a rather mean lifespan - bordering on the infinite if used sparingly. She made three, just to have proof that they can be as easily manufactured as the grenades.
A high-power laser, intended for damage, was her next intent, but it was here that she stumbled.
The spell would require magical energy to power it. Lots of magical energy.
Airborne prana as a method wouldn't be enough to charge the object reliably. Leylines and nodes weren't abundant, so creating an item that depended on them was... iffy. A different system would be to have it draw on mana from the user, but most people didn't have half a broken meridian, which meant their magical energy would at best let the laser cut through an inch of stone before their soul was so excruciatingly mana-deprived that it'd begin sending feedback in the form of migraines and nosebleeds. Combining the two systems was possible, but it would produce diminishing results in terms of how long it took to implement them and have them play nice with each other.
Alternative gates of mana in one spiritual system rarely had the decency to act like a happily married couple; they were more like a cat and dog fighting for every scrap of magical energy and dragging it away from each other until they began to vibrate and exploded in an underwhelming fart; often materialized as lightning zapping the fuck out of everything relatively finger-shaped in the vicinity regardless of conductivity or magnetism.
She decided to hold off on this, at least for now, but she created a tentative laser wand that could be used for cutting thin surfaces at short range before forcibly shutting down to prevent the user from hurting themselves. At worst, it could be used as an improvised weapon; at best they'd cut bread with it.
Illusion-detecting glasses were easier, thankfully; in part, because she could model them on the Enlightening Glasses as an inspiration - the self-hypnosis took a quarter of what it should have. Far from being as mana-intensive as a high-energy laser, she decided to have it draw on the user's mana, and activate on command, but she'd need to issue warnings with this one. She only managed to make two of them, but managed to implement a sub-function of letting the user not get blinded by the flash grenades. She pondered adding a darkvision function, but with the flashlights that seemed obsolete.
Conversion of light into magical energy was another topic she brushed on. Belladonna confirmed that it was possible, so she got to experimenting, but couldn't find a method.
At one point, she almost got close to something like a result, but instead of changing light into magical energy, she managed to turn light into energy.
That is to say, the nearest torches began to exude a constant - if low - physical pressure on her while also turning pitch-black. She's still not exactly sure how that worked but is pretty sure it's a step in the right direction... or, at least laterally in the right direction. It might require more research.
The last project was a twin-linked pair of mirrors that could be used for communication, but Lazara couldn't hope to finish that in one day. It played into her niche, but not entirely. It had other components and mechanics that weren't strictly 'light-related.' Transferring light and sound in long distance was complicated, but linking the two mirrors together should be possible with some nebulous method; Lazara would just have to read up on it or ask her teacher and maybe she'd find something.
She imagined the military would prefer some version that can be used to create a network but that would be difficult. She asked for advice but Belladonna had little to offer in this department, as spatial networks were decently far from her area of expertise.
Surprisingly, just as Lazara was wrapping up and Belladonna was leaving, Snake walked into the room - in the form of a toothless costermonger of all things - and overheard the discussion. He proposed an espionage variant: earrings that allowed you to communicate telepathically between wearers, before asking Belladonna if he could talk to Lazara alone. The magic teacher reluctantly left.
###
"What is this?" Lazara asked, staring and trying to not show fear.
The costermonger grinned, showing a toothless smile. His voice was terribly distorted by uneven gums, his lack of teeth, and probably some form of throat cancer; like the ruler of all lisps, like his tongue took up the entirety of his throat and wanted to go even further outwards. "Ooo. Yethtarhdey."
Ugh. Lazara already wanted to seal her ears shut. Or his throat.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She folded her arms.
At that, Snake frowned. "Ay thee. If thaf ifsh fhe cays, ay fill go foo ooo moffa an' fhow heww dis."
"What?" Her face showed genuine confusion mixed with vague annyoance.
Snake's frown turned into a scowl as he began to speak very slowly, "if thathf, ishf.... fhe case.... ay fill go shfoo yoo moffa."
"If that is the case, you will go show my mother?"
He nodded.
Lazara couldn't have that. She was torn between kicking the guy in the balls and asking him what he wanted. Just to be safe, she asked, "Is this blackmail?"
Snake smiled, smugness approaching the ceiling. "Yeph."
"What do you want?" she scoffed, beginning to catch onto the situation.
"Juph ay fiffyl flavur."
"What." Lazara blinked, arms unfolding as she tried hard not to laugh, but failed, the smile apparent on her face. He really screwed up when picking his daily skinsuit. "Just a little flavor?"
"Flavur!" he yelled, an honest-to-god vein appearing on the side of his forehead. "Faay-vuur. Faay-vuur!"
She nodded. "Ooh, a favor! What do you want? A dentist appointment?" She laughed.
Snake made a truly indignant noise, eye twitching. "AY FANTH OOO KNO HOU OOO AVOYD MEH IN HI-AN-THEEK."
You're pretty sure he wants to know how you avoided him in hide and seek. Either that, or he wants to "hide in thick," and you're not sure your mom would be happy about a snake slithering up her cleavage.
[] Tell him.
[] Make fun of him.
###
Savior Panel
Savior Panel
Dillican Redscale has been informed of what Pyldret said. The paladin took the information in stride and said he'll inform his higher-ups, even though he believes Pyldret can be reformed.
Timory will be back home on the 22nd or 23rd, depending on travel time.
Are there any Supplementary Actions you wish to take?
[] Write-in.
[] More of... [specific situation/character; next update will contain more related content in favor of other content. This isn't an interlude, merely less abbreviation and more detailed interactions]
[] System change... [write shorter or longer updates, change the rules, something else? Currently, aiming to write less than 4.5k words per update, but more than 3k]
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[X] Tell him.
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
- Location
- PA
A few thoughts:
Pyldret? I think he could stand to look through history-there must be SOME reason Dragons don't just rule this world outright, and I'm sure that some research would answer that. On another topic? his problem regarding us I think boils down to he can smell we're important but we don't 'appear' important in a way he can detect, because pure Savior power isn't something that's always on/useful. If we had taken a Cheat, we could have kicked his tail with it and taught him humility.
Father...What's up with him? He's acting distinctly like he's heard some dark prophecy that might have mislead him or something...That's worrisome but I don't know enough to catch what's up. But let's pay attention to Sylvester, as long as he's around we're fine, but should the monk be removed...
Snake don't like being fooled, but honestly? I'm tempted to take his venom now, and not for the obvious reason of getting his blackmail out from over our heads-I'm getting kind of concerned about how Lazara's personality is developing, and I think she could use some humility and empathy, this serves as an excellent chance to learn it safely. Plus keeping the snake from holding too much over our head so the Adversary doesn't have an easy angle to assassinate our character.
Pope wanna be Decimus? Uhhh...Kid pope seems brash, but might not be that bad? Question is how many of those cardinals can smite the Adversary should he come close. I'd like to think it's not possible but...Evil churches are such a popular notion...
Pyldret? I think he could stand to look through history-there must be SOME reason Dragons don't just rule this world outright, and I'm sure that some research would answer that. On another topic? his problem regarding us I think boils down to he can smell we're important but we don't 'appear' important in a way he can detect, because pure Savior power isn't something that's always on/useful. If we had taken a Cheat, we could have kicked his tail with it and taught him humility.
Father...What's up with him? He's acting distinctly like he's heard some dark prophecy that might have mislead him or something...That's worrisome but I don't know enough to catch what's up. But let's pay attention to Sylvester, as long as he's around we're fine, but should the monk be removed...
Snake don't like being fooled, but honestly? I'm tempted to take his venom now, and not for the obvious reason of getting his blackmail out from over our heads-I'm getting kind of concerned about how Lazara's personality is developing, and I think she could use some humility and empathy, this serves as an excellent chance to learn it safely. Plus keeping the snake from holding too much over our head so the Adversary doesn't have an easy angle to assassinate our character.
Pope wanna be Decimus? Uhhh...Kid pope seems brash, but might not be that bad? Question is how many of those cardinals can smite the Adversary should he come close. I'd like to think it's not possible but...Evil churches are such a popular notion...
[X] Tell him.
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
[X] Tell him.
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
-[X] Make fun of him first, pretend to misunderstand what he meant by 'hide in thick'.
-[X] Ask him if he spends much time peeping on you as a snake, if it relates to his frog-in-throat problem(did he eat a toad or something as a snake?) and how it works.
[X] Adjust the twin linked mirror plan, they don't need to transmit sound, just light, people can write or draw for each other after all.
[X] Learn more about the Pope kid
Chapter 8: Gift of Light
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Chapter 8: Gift of Light
###
21st of Goldleaf, 1310
###
21st of Goldleaf, 1310
"I don't think mom would appreciate that," Lazara said. "A noble lady's cleavage is a private affair. And no matter how stealthy you are, there are some places even you can't slither into."
The snake blinked in perfect accordance with her words, confirming her beliefs. Lazara gave him a questioning look and followed it up with an even more questioning inquiry, "Do you spend much time peeping on me from those bushes? Also, why do you have busted teeth? Slip on a banana peel when selling forbidden fruits to children?"
For a moment, the man's eye twitched. The snake on his shoulders unfurled, lifting its face to look at her directly. It tasted the air with its tongue, then hissed, "You're not asss funny asss you think, child. Thiss vessel iss broken; he tried too hard to ressist me and broke his teeth by ssmashing them over the countertop of hiss shop."
"Nice." Lazara nodded in comedic approval. Quid pro quo still applied; she answered, "I used glasses that let me see through walls."
"You cheated," Snake stated. It wasn't an accusation or a show of offense, only an observation, devoid of emotion.
"Not technically; the rules said no magic. Nothing about magic items." Lazara gave him a smug grin, folding her arms to emphasize her upper body and expression. To her hidden chagrin, he didn't react too much. "Read between the lines, scaly."
He tasted the air with his tongue again; isn't that how they smell or something? Snake - the actual snake, not the host - shook his head. "No point arguing sssemantics."
"Yeah, so-"
"Doing ssso with a ssstupid child would be folly," he interrupted in a passive-aggressive manner. There was bite to his words; a paltry attempt at regaining lost pride by diminishing hers. Failed.
Lazara leaned back against the wall, monitoring his movements closely for a moment. She wasn't expecting an attack, but the insinuation she was about to make could make him... disagreeable.
"So. Do you just kind of -" She made a gesture with her hands, mimicking a garrote being pulled taut and thin "- random somebodies in the middle of the street and turn them into mind slaves to spy on people? How come no one's noticed a white snake being passed around? I'd think that's pretty exotic."
"I can hide my pressence," he hissed blankly. "Illusssion is fickle; it occurs in the present, in physical ssspace; shadowsss and phantasmsss attempting to fool mindss. But attempting isn't the same as succeeding; I prefer the direct method. Instead, I take to enchantment; compulsion and charms. Force minds to forget my existence, or bend to my will. The former lets me hide, and the latter lets me use people asss vessels."
She wasn't sure what to think of his methods. He was a snake; obviously, human ethics do not apply. That he casually hijacked people on a daily basis to spy on others was disconcerting to say the least.
"So, this guy broke his teeth fighting off your influence?" she asked, feeling defensive. Lazara was apprehensive about this whole enchantment deal he had going, as she lacked confidence that she'd be able to block his magic if he tried to affect her.
"Yess. An unfortunate side-effect of people getting ussed to my presence," he said. "I switch disguisess often. Victimss build up resistance in days, and I am forced to sswitch. I have tried to find alternative methodsss to no luck. That town has a limited amount of vesselss; I was forced to switch to one I'd used previously. I'm afraid thiss will keep happening and will happen more often."
"Can't you just conjure up a body from ectoplasm or something?" She barely noticed the subconscious dread, driving her to give him alternatives.
"Can't you jusst levitate a gallon of water," he hissed back, with a harsh sting, "or something?"
"Touché." She acknowledged the blow, frowning. "If that's all, I have projects to attend to." It wasn't a question.
"I want one," he said.
"What?" she asked, blinking. "Want what?"
"A device to let me see people through wallsss. It'd make my life easier. In exchange, I don't let your parents know you're affiliating with rabble."
"Or, I transmit deadly amounts of light into your eyes," she threatened, but without the tonal growl that came with normal threats. She'd found that, at her age, this method was more intimidating.
Snake actually seemed to give the threat some thought - she wasn't sure whether to be amazed or terrified that he sincerely believed she'd go that far. In the end, his argument was, "That'd be difficult to clean up. Also: murder."
"So, what, you want a magical monocle that lets you see through walls? Shall I make you a tophat as well?"
"Yesss, please," he actually replied. What the fuck?!
###
Lazara made the final adjustments to the mana flow system and the photon conversion spell. She'd considered using a spatial distortion matrix, but saving, storing, and pasting wavelengths of light was cheaper and easier.
The mirror was tiny; not bigger than nine by four centimeters, with a millimeter-wide frame. It was only two millimeters thick, but crafted from reinforced glass. The kind of bullshit glass that if you drop it from the roof, it won't have a scratch.
A second mirror, its twin, laid just next to it.
Belladonna looked at her protegé. The smile was absent from her lips, but Lazara could tell from the subtle facial expressions and twists of her lips that her teacher was satisfied.
"Let's give them a try. I'll take one, you take the other and go outside," she said and Lazara nodded, taking a mirror in hand. She left and closed the door, then walked down the hallway.
She swiped her thumb in a circular pattern, causing the reflective surface to distort and show Belladonna's face. It didn't have a HUB or a menu of any sort; no selection screens, only the ability to connect to the other side. The actual appearance of the other side was slightly hypnotic and confusing to the mind, in the kind of strange way that made you want to stare at it in an attempt to figure out how space seemed to work.
It wasn't a still image with one point from which a cone of vision spread, like human eyes. When Lazara looked at it from different angles, she could actually see more and more towards the edges of the room; less like an image and more like a portal in space, except only light can go through.
Suddenly, Belladonna made motions with her finger and the white letters 'come back' appeared on Lazara's mirror. She nodded and replied, 'on my way.'
Damn, that's a struggle to write out with her finger. She had to figure out some system to shorten the writing or a dictionary of abbreviations.
Lazara walked back in. "The mirrors are a success!"
###
She hated to say this, but Pope of the Ten Divines, Theomach Claudius Pallas Julius Alcendence was utter bullshit.
She'd asked Sylvester and her parents, scribbling up a mental image of the pope based on what they said. They concurred on actual events, but their projection of motives and traits on the pope differed slightly. Sylvester liked him, Daevina was principally impartial, and Lord Lightbrook believed it was wrong that such a thing as air coursing through the pope's lungs was allowed.
In short, around a year ago, Eterweiss, Paladine, Vortess, Agria, Moradin, Bahamut, Corellon, Halathea, Ayala, and Belamere: the Ten Gods epiphanized in the capital of Algrannar: Warthford, in front of their respective cardinals having a meeting regarding the replacement for the dead pope.
What followed was a divine clusterfuck. The cardinals who were secretly corrupt began convulsing and having seizures and heart attacks, while the good ones were given the sacred mission of conscripting a seven-year-old Julius Alcendence and make him the new pope with all of their blessings.
This broke a bunch of rules: only a cardinal could advance to be a pope, and he could only have the blessing of his own god. He would also name his successor cardinal. But who can argue God, let alone ten of them?
They were also ordered to get him in person, and so they did, going on a pilgrimage across the country to obtain their charge.
So, little Julius - an orphan, as it were - was expecting them in his rural village of absolutely nowhere. He was improperly bold and sassy and socially maneuvered around them into giving himself benefits and privileges, while dropping demerits on them. That said, the only cardinals left were genuinely good and devoted, so it didn't take much to convince them, though they still disliked how every single deity of the pantheon was in love with this kid for some reason.
In the end, they managed to get him not to name himself Decius or Decimus or anything else related to the number 'ten' in any language, and settled on Theomach. They also argued to limit the extent of his duties until he was ten years old, despite his relative competence.
Ah, let's not gloss over the fact that he's basically the chosen one, having been granted a divine blessing by each god and having access to their respective powers. On top of the Ten Great Gods, he also bargained with several spirits and lesser 'heretic deities' to get their blessings as well - a move that was seen as very controversial, especially given that one of those gods was actually of the opposing pantheon. We're talking the-devil-and-his-buddies-having-a-poker-night kind of pantheon here.
To her, as well as her parents, it was more obvious than most: he's building up power. He's a precocious child, beloved by the gods - even evil ones - and is actively gaining power however he can.
The question is: to what end? He's not even hit puberty and has managed to outmaneuver the church's greatest politicos when he could live out his entire life in relatively faithful luxury. Lazara felt herself mentally squinting at the situation.
There was a game being played here, between Pope Theomach and someone else, but she couldn't see the pieces or their movements, only know that there is a chessboard with players and pieces.
The fact that an opposing god lent him power? Scary. The fact that ten of said god's enemies allowed that to occur? Super scary. Most peasants and even noblemen don't see the implications in this, and the subject is too controversial to be discussed openly without spiraling into feverish deontology-vs-utilitarianism arguments and opinionated assertions.
To be fair, Rexuspol - the dark god of superiority, vainglory, ambition, and achievement - sounds like the guy who would be the most favorable towards the seven-year-old who has it all and is wanting more.
The latest news regarding the pope was that he had a meeting with Sebastian Vahki; a famous adventurer and hero, around two weeks ago. The exact topic of the meeting isn't known, but Sebastian apparently left it fuming, being angry, and generally sour; the pope made an enemy, it appears.
What is he suiting up for? It's bizarre: the gods didn't feel it necessary to suspend their eternal war against each other, but it appears they are willing to bend the rules slightly to give him their favor for some nebulous end.
She felt a pang of hope. Could it be that he's fighting the Adversary, and could act as an ally? Hope turned into despair as she considered: Is he a trap? The Adversary's seed planted and growing into malicious cancer?
The timeline aligned. He was eight; and Lazara could certainly see the Adversary creating a human vessel three years after their appearance in the world, just next to an orphanage. Then, he'd build up power for a few more years and make a big theatrical play of the gods descending to promote this random boy into popehood. Not something anyone can argue with, nor something one can really prove.
Maybe the pope isn't bargaining with spirits, but simply gaining new powers as Adversary does, and the Adversary just dresses them up as having a divine source? Maybe the blessing from Rexuspol is just distinctive enough that he couldn't dress it up otherwise?
Whatever game he was playing, it was dangerous. For a moment, Lazara considered possible vectors for joining it - or finding out if he was playing chess or checkers.
###
22nd of Goldleaf, 1310
22nd of Goldleaf, 1310
Lazara slammed into Timory's body and wrapped her arms around him like a squid wraps its tentacles around a log swimming in the ocean.
Behind her, Lord Lightbrook shook his head with a weary sigh, while his wife watched with a smile.
The servants picked up Timory's bags. Two of them had to divide his suit of armor between themselves and strained to lumber forward. Their legs giving out after a dozen meters, forcing them to put it down, rest for a moment, then get back to it again.
"Tim, it's good to see you!" Lazara said, letting go of her brother who wasn't bothered in the slightest by the crushing embrace.
"Timory," Lord Lightbrook greeted him with a nod and Timory replied in an identical manner. Lazara watched as her brother reunited with their parents.
She hadn't noticed this previously, but her father had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept for a few nights. His movements were also dead, almost zombie-like, and his reactions were slowed down both in speech and in action.
Is he not sleeping well? Lazara would ask, but it was hardly the time for that.
Come to think of it, Nellie mentioned something about pills. Was he taking sleep medicine or something? Lazara felt a painful surge of guilt at not noticing how tired he was earlier. But maybe that was just today?
She put the matter off and focused on Timory, as the entire family returned back inside the mansion, Timory regaling them with short tales of his time at the training camp. It was run by a mercenary group called the Blue Circle Company, led by a warrior and adventurer named Perevel.
The organization was famous for its skill in siege and guerilla warfare... as well as notorious due to a third of its members being ex-bandits. Reformed ex-bandits, probably, but still. Father didn't care too much, being more focused with providing Timory with the best there was.
Discussion of what Timory would do from now on - including suggestions from both father and mother - continued over dinner. Lazara stayed silent, choosing to eat and let her mom be protective of him in her stead.
"Lazara?" Timory looked at her. "What do you think?"
"Oh? Uhm." She dropped her fork, where she'd been twiddling around with her cheesy pasta before. "You should stay safe."
Daevina nodded approvingly, while her father was too much like a zombie and not emotive enough to get a read on. Lazara wasn't confident she'd be able to read him even in his default state, let alone with this mummy syndrome.
Timory looked down, not at his meal, but not at anyone else; kind of in the middle, at the table's center. He stared listlessly for several, long seconds, until he finally said, "Alright, okay. Okay." He nodded, unblinking. "Can you hire me a bodyguard or something? Is that good enough?"
Daevina looked at Lord Lightbrook and Lord Lightbrook looked at the butler, who whispered something into his ear. Father turned to Timory with a dead look in his eyes and said, "Fine."
Timory was about to smile and thank him before Lightbrook added, "But you must promise to carry this."
Lightbrook nodded to Lazara, who took out one of her mirrors and slid it over to Timory across the table. He picked it up and stared. "What is it?"
"A device of my invention," Lazara said, beaming with pride. "It lets us communicate at any distance. Move a finger on it; make a circle. Then you can write messages and my mirror will get them, and the other way around. We'll be able to stay in contact, and if anything happens, we'll send as much help as we can!"
"That's cool, but will it work against jamming magic?" he asked, looking it over.
"I don't know," she admitted, losing a large amount of her jubilant mood. "Is that common?"
He shook his head. "Not really, but it happens in major battles."
"That won't be a problem, if you avoid major battles," Lord Lightbrook interjected, his order dripping with imperious reprehension. "And be wary of ambushes. You can never know with these damn elves."
Timory snorted, "Right. Don't worry about that; the guys in the training camp all but drilled sensory magic into my brain. I can see through solid surfaces, detect ill intent and danger seconds before they come, and can see the trajectories of attacks coming towards me a heartbeat before they happen. Interesting, that: if I could see them earlier, I'd adjust my defense, which would change the trajectory, which would throw off my defense. It's a dead family of mental spells."
"And physical magic?" Lord Lightbrook asked, raising his wine goblet and taking a sip from it with closed eyes.
"I can convert magical energy into stamina to keep fighting, I can lift a wheelbarrow with one hand, move fast enough to catch up to a horse, and healed a sword-cut in minutes with no adverse effects," he listed one by one, then blinked as he realized, "Ah. And also, I can, uh... ignore inertia with my attacks, or something like that. When I swing a sword, it feels to me like I'm using a stick, but the guy on the other end gets hit with the full throttle."
Lightbrook nodded, eyes still closed. "Satisfactory."
###
Savior Panel
"Cute."
Savior Panel
"Cute."
The date is 22nd Goldleaf, 1310.
Your brother, Timory is back, with several more levels of experience gained from the time spent at the training camp.
He has severely over-estimated his own abilities, or rather, made them sound more powerful than they actually are.
In terms of physical parameters, he is "above average" bordering on "nigh peak-human" in most capacities, but can use magical energy to go beyond peak-human levels for short periods; no longer than two minutes without running out of mana. There is no hard limit to how much he can enhance himself, other than mana constraints, which increase exponentially. At his most expedient, he could become almost invulnerable for a second. He has sensory abilities like he described; the ability to peer through solid substances as if they were nonexistent, vague "glimpses" or hunches of danger, and seeing the trajectories of attacks just moments before they happen.
In a rough combat simulation, he could defeat five peasants armed with spears, or two elven soldiers in full plate armor with shields and swords; with nothing but a shield and sword of his own. Elven archers are a bit more tricky, but he would manage at short distances even when ambushed. He's slowly developing a degree of natural magic resistance, but a single, skilled battle-mage with the proper specialty could take him down.
Naturally, given this is a war, he is unlikely to face opponents alone, and will also be assigned a skilled bodyguard who can keep up with him.
This is the lower end of the spectrum of his development: his physical magic will get stronger over time and will become more energy efficient while his own stores of energy increase, and his sensory abilities will refine themselves over time. If subjected to enough aggressive magic, he should develop a degree of resistance to it pretty much nigh-instantly; the usual fare for a physical adept.
Don't worry. None of this counts as meta-knowledge, since you're supposed to know it.
Political Opportunity [Marshall's Office / Aristocrats of Algrannar]
The Grand Marshall's office - as well as several nobles - wish to meet in order to see Lazara's magical products and estimate if they're interested in buying.
[] Set a date and location for the appointment (Write-in).
Intrigue Opportunity [Pope Theomach]
[] Contact the pope and try to arrange some way to find out his goals.
[] Leave him be for now.
[] Write-in.
Are there any Supplementary Actions you wish to take?
[] Write-in.
[] More of... [specific situation/character; next update will contain more related content in favor of other content. This isn't an interlude, merely less abbreviation and more detailed interactions]
[] System change... [write shorter or longer updates, change the rules, something else? Currently, aiming to write less than 4.5k words per update, but more than 3k]
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[X][Nobles]Next week.
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
[X]Supplementary action:Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
Is it just me or does the Pope sound like he took multiple Cheat Skills and is probably unaware that the cheat could be used to fuck him later?
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
[X]Supplementary action:Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
Is it just me or does the Pope sound like he took multiple Cheat Skills and is probably unaware that the cheat could be used to fuck him later?
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- Location
- US
- Pronouns
- She, her
Political Opportunity [Marshall's Office / Aristocrats of Algrannar]
[X][Nobles]Next week.
-[X] 30th of Goldleaf, noon, notables can either come here or provide transport somewhere they find convenient.
Intrigue Opportunity [Pope Theomach]
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
Are there any Supplementary Actions you wish to take?
[X] You want Timory to join at least some of your magic and combat lessons while at home. Starting tomorrow/today.
-[X] You're proud, but know how easy it is to overestimate oneself. So you feel a need to check out Timory's claims. Of course, you won't tell him this. Instead, you'll rope him into lessons by, respectively: asking him to discuss his experience with mana-energy conversion with you and Belladonna; excitedly requesting a friendly spar. And, of course you'll encourage him to show off.
[X]Supplementary action:Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
-[X]"Either you're fretting, or you're under attack. Please tell me what's going on and why you're taking pills, because if you don't I'm going to need to check you and everything you touch for tampering."
[X]Oh no... What if Timory leaves the mirror somewhere?! Or you do? Let's see if we can put it in a setting on a chain. Or in his shield. Or glue it in his pocket. Or his helmet. Or...
[X][Nobles]Next week.
-[X] 30th of Goldleaf, noon, notables can either come here or provide transport somewhere they find convenient.
Intrigue Opportunity [Pope Theomach]
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
Are there any Supplementary Actions you wish to take?
[X] You want Timory to join at least some of your magic and combat lessons while at home. Starting tomorrow/today.
-[X] You're proud, but know how easy it is to overestimate oneself. So you feel a need to check out Timory's claims. Of course, you won't tell him this. Instead, you'll rope him into lessons by, respectively: asking him to discuss his experience with mana-energy conversion with you and Belladonna; excitedly requesting a friendly spar. And, of course you'll encourage him to show off.
[X]Supplementary action:Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
-[X]"Either you're fretting, or you're under attack. Please tell me what's going on and why you're taking pills, because if you don't I'm going to need to check you and everything you touch for tampering."
[X]Oh no... What if Timory leaves the mirror somewhere?! Or you do? Let's see if we can put it in a setting on a chain. Or in his shield. Or glue it in his pocket. Or his helmet. Or...
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[X] Thinker
ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
[X][Nobles]Next week.
-[X] 30th of Goldleaf, noon, notables can either come here or provide transport somewhere they find convenient.
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
[X] You want Timory to join at least some of your magic and combat lessons while at home. Starting tomorrow/today.
-[X] You're proud, but know how easy it is to overestimate oneself. So you feel a need to check out Timory's claims. Of course, you won't tell him this. Instead, you'll rope him into lessons by, respectively: asking him to discuss his experience with mana-energy conversion with you and Belladonna; excitedly requesting a friendly spar. And, of course you'll encourage him to show off.
[X]Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
-[X]"Either you're fretting, or you're under attack. Please tell me what's going on and why you're taking pills, because if you don't I'm going to need to check you and everything you touch for tampering."
[X]Oh no... What if Timory leaves the mirror somewhere?! Or you do? Let's see if we can put it in a setting on a chain. Or in his shield. Or glue it in his pocket. Or his helmet. Or...
-[X] 30th of Goldleaf, noon, notables can either come here or provide transport somewhere they find convenient.
[X]Write the place of worship housing Theodus a letter casually inquiring about how the astonishingly young Pope's appointment affects doctrine and incidentally you're curious about him. Consider implying a crush if needed as an alternate motive - then again, who wouldn't be curious? Don't write him directly. Until you know what's going on, try to slip beneath his notice.
[X] You want Timory to join at least some of your magic and combat lessons while at home. Starting tomorrow/today.
-[X] You're proud, but know how easy it is to overestimate oneself. So you feel a need to check out Timory's claims. Of course, you won't tell him this. Instead, you'll rope him into lessons by, respectively: asking him to discuss his experience with mana-energy conversion with you and Belladonna; excitedly requesting a friendly spar. And, of course you'll encourage him to show off.
[X]Check up on Lord Lightbrook. Why can't your father get proper sleep?
-[X]"Either you're fretting, or you're under attack. Please tell me what's going on and why you're taking pills, because if you don't I'm going to need to check you and everything you touch for tampering."
[X]Oh no... What if Timory leaves the mirror somewhere?! Or you do? Let's see if we can put it in a setting on a chain. Or in his shield. Or glue it in his pocket. Or his helmet. Or...
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Good news! Plenty of time to write this weekend, so I'll lock the votes right now and get on working for Chapter 9.
With a large workload off of me, and time to relax, I might be able to output more material of higher quality - I feel like that last chapter was a bit... weak, personally? The writing wasn't as lively as I aimed for, but I didn't have the head to edit it a million times. This time it will hopefully be better.
With a large workload off of me, and time to relax, I might be able to output more material of higher quality - I feel like that last chapter was a bit... weak, personally? The writing wasn't as lively as I aimed for, but I didn't have the head to edit it a million times. This time it will hopefully be better.
Chapter 9: My Reflection
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Chapter 9: My Reflection
###
24th of Goldleaf, 1310
###
24th of Goldleaf, 1310
Over the next few nights, Lazara was visited by dreams of a strange world. Lily. Home. Past.
A lighthouse towered above a city.
A nebulous world.
An experiment providing light to others. Natural.
An indescribable world.
A star-sequined sky reflected in an endless watery surface.
A vaguer world, there has never been.
My home.
And yet, Lazara understood.
My reflection.
And then she didn't.
Lazara's eyes opened at once. The moment her consciousness returned, she let out a massive groan and clenched her fists, throwing the bedsheets off with her feet.
She really wanted to punch something, but when she looked at the items in the room - the wall, window, cupboards, nightstand - everything seemed too sturdy to damage. She hit the bed with the bottom of her right fist, but it yielded too elastically to her blow. Unsatisfying.
Lazara stood up groggily and began to wash her face in the basin.
She'd been this close to clarity; a hair's width away from the goal, before the promised understanding slipped away from her grasp, evading her once again. A futile repeat of the exercise she'd been practicing ever since she realized she was reincarnated. Belladonna helped her put together the meditative logic - to draw understanding from dreams, communicate with one's soul, one's past, and one's deeper self. A way to see memories of her previous life.
She blinked the water out of her eyes, then began to wash her hair. Once she was done, a wind spell would suffice to dry it.
Lazara thought her soul might be eager to share the facts, but that was far from the truth. Either she lacked the aptitude for doing it correctly or was doing the wrong thing. Meditate instead of sleep? She wasn't a prophet, but her light had some ill-defined leanings towards divination. Far from clairvoyance or precognition, but maybe some clarity could be leveraged... with effort.
Lazara looked up at her reflection and blinked in surprise, then shook off the illusion and walked to the bathroom.
For a moment, she'd thought she saw someone else in the mirror - a kindly, older woman - but it must have been a trick of the light.
Why had her soul refused to speak to her?
###
Following breakfast, which had been mostly silent, a butler approached Lazara. Timory stopped to look, but then shrugged and left to go do his magic training. "M'lady.""Yes?" She looked at the butler. What was his name? It wasn't a funny one, like Sebastian or Alfred. Malvius? No, wait, that's the gardener. This one is... "Eliott?"
He nodded in confirmation, then extended his gloved hand. "This came for you via carrier pigeon this morning," he said. Lazara took and examined the letter.
It was a simple white paper envelope, but her hands told her more. The paper was a perfect, matte white. It was sturdy - the kind that didn't tear easily and took too long to burn. More importantly, it had a golden wax seal on it, with a symbol of ten circles joined together in a ring, with lines connecting them to a crown in the center.
"Thank you," she said, looking up at the butler with a smile. He nodded, and she walked off to her study.
She came through the door, looked right and left to confirm no one was following her, then closed it. Just to be safe, she put on her glasses and scanned the room and the general area. The maids were busy chatting as they cleaned up the breakfast table and prepared to partake themselves, the butlers were standing by the wayside and chatting, the valet was... preparing clothes for father to wear, it looked like; the guards were guarding, and the cooks were cooking.
Clear.
Lazara took the glasses off, sat down in her desk, then tore the envelope open and took it out to read.
The paper within was sturdy parchment: the sort of parchment, that when exposed to rain, wouldn't be affected in the slightest. The text was clear and written in some kind of strange ink - gold, with a blue outline. What kind of quill writes like that? Must be magical.
Lazara began to read the letter.
She almost dropped it in shock.
Lazara blinked and read again.
Dear Lady Lightbrook,
I didn't know you have a crush on me. It's rather inappropriate, given that you're a full three years older than me. You wouldn't happen to be a pedophile, would you? I digress.
I write to you regarding the letter you've sent to my subordinates in a very poor attempt to slip it past my notice. I might be of a young age, but I am not stupid, my fair Lady. I know what happens in the basilica and I know what happens in the capital. The postal services responsible for directing carrier pigeons are most helpful when their pockets are sprinkled with coin.
If you would lean towards accepting advice, from one youthful schemer to another: Next time, try enchanted pigeons directed at whomever you want to contact, and make sure they don't serve or answer to the person you're contacting them about. Or hire a messenger. Should either option prove distasteful or dangerous, hire a mercenary, adventurer, et cetera; their types are eager for work and surely your treasury is far from empty, given your considerable standing.
As to actually answer the question contained within your letter, my appointment has caused distress and varying levels of groaning among the members of the Church of Ten, and its subsidiaries: especially the cardinals, with whom I have taken great joy in annoying to no end.
It brings me delight to annoy them on purpose, for reasons I frankly cannot fathom. There is something primally satisfying: a form of vindictive glee, in sticking it to the man.
Especially when 'the man' is a group of thousand-year-old chair-farting clowns whose only real aim is to bend over and pray every evening. When was the last time one of them got up and slew a greater daemon or something? I realize that statement may be hypocritical, but I am only eight and am getting ready for greater things as it is.
As for the common populace, it appears that opinions are torn up, but I am not certain of the exact statistics. To my best approximation, half of the people are in love with me, and the other half would see me burn in agonizing pain at a stake for witchcraft, heresy, lèse-majesté, demoralization, and likely other offenses or misdemeanors that I am not aware of.
I will consider marriage no earlier than a decade from now, but I may be convinced otherwise if your father is willing to grant me the right of dowry.
Write back at your leisure.
With a raised eyebrow,
Pope of the Ten Divines, His Excellency, Regulator of Cosmic Balance, Defender of Mortalkind, Guardian of Gates Most Conflicted, Keeper of Harvests, Controller of Forges, Ambassador to Dragonkind, Enlightened Sage Equal To Heaven, Dweller Among The Finest Thrones, Merciful Considerator, Holder of the Scales, Speaker of Archaic Bullshit, et cetera, et cetera......
Theomach Claudius Pallas Julius Alcendence
I didn't know you have a crush on me. It's rather inappropriate, given that you're a full three years older than me. You wouldn't happen to be a pedophile, would you? I digress.
I write to you regarding the letter you've sent to my subordinates in a very poor attempt to slip it past my notice. I might be of a young age, but I am not stupid, my fair Lady. I know what happens in the basilica and I know what happens in the capital. The postal services responsible for directing carrier pigeons are most helpful when their pockets are sprinkled with coin.
If you would lean towards accepting advice, from one youthful schemer to another: Next time, try enchanted pigeons directed at whomever you want to contact, and make sure they don't serve or answer to the person you're contacting them about. Or hire a messenger. Should either option prove distasteful or dangerous, hire a mercenary, adventurer, et cetera; their types are eager for work and surely your treasury is far from empty, given your considerable standing.
As to actually answer the question contained within your letter, my appointment has caused distress and varying levels of groaning among the members of the Church of Ten, and its subsidiaries: especially the cardinals, with whom I have taken great joy in annoying to no end.
It brings me delight to annoy them on purpose, for reasons I frankly cannot fathom. There is something primally satisfying: a form of vindictive glee, in sticking it to the man.
Especially when 'the man' is a group of thousand-year-old chair-farting clowns whose only real aim is to bend over and pray every evening. When was the last time one of them got up and slew a greater daemon or something? I realize that statement may be hypocritical, but I am only eight and am getting ready for greater things as it is.
As for the common populace, it appears that opinions are torn up, but I am not certain of the exact statistics. To my best approximation, half of the people are in love with me, and the other half would see me burn in agonizing pain at a stake for witchcraft, heresy, lèse-majesté, demoralization, and likely other offenses or misdemeanors that I am not aware of.
I will consider marriage no earlier than a decade from now, but I may be convinced otherwise if your father is willing to grant me the right of dowry.
Write back at your leisure.
With a raised eyebrow,
Pope of the Ten Divines, His Excellency, Regulator of Cosmic Balance, Defender of Mortalkind, Guardian of Gates Most Conflicted, Keeper of Harvests, Controller of Forges, Ambassador to Dragonkind, Enlightened Sage Equal To Heaven, Dweller Among The Finest Thrones, Merciful Considerator, Holder of the Scales, Speaker of Archaic Bullshit, et cetera, et cetera......
Theomach Claudius Pallas Julius Alcendence
Lazara stared, long and hard.
What just happened?
###
That afternoon.
"How many meridians do you have?"
"Six," Timory replied, sword and shield raised high. The shield covered most of his torso to provide a good defense, even with his armor on and his helmet's visor clasped closed.
There was the matter of the communication mirror. Lazara attempted to convince him to wear it on a chain at his belt, but he insisted it was too fragile and would break easily during combat.
Instead, she and Belladonna managed to work a sort of glassy visor behind the actual visor in his helmet. It was fully transparent when inactive, and the opacity of the other side was low even when activated, though he required a small opening for his mouth to be added as breathing would become too difficult with the glass.
"Interesting," Belladonna said.
She moved a few paces back and nodded to Matrim, who raised his sword in a defensive stance. He was instructed not to chuck rocks, sand, or anything else that wouldn't be done by a typical elven soldier on the battlefield.
The spar began.
Timory closed the distance of twenty meters in four seconds from a standstill. Lazara felt the wind whooshing her hair in his wake, even though she stood quite a distance away.
His heels scraped against the earth as he halted in a drift. He swung his blade.
Matrim leaned back, and the tip only barely scraped the surface of his armor, before he stepped forward. Matrim raised his own sword and lowered it.
Timory lifted his shield in response, but Matrim changed directions in the last second. A feint.
It wasn't enough; Timory adapted his defense.
The shield changed directions as Timory stepped back, then circled around, and leaned his entire body left to avoid a follow-up attack - he looked like he was about to fall over, but kept moving, teetering at the edge of balance.
The response came at a very obtuse angle and Matrim was hit in the side of the torso, just as Timory shifted his balance again, to the earth. His back hit the ground and he rolled backwards, while Matrim nursed his wound.
Matrim frowned, while Belladonna whistled appreciatively.
"You should have followed it up," Matrim stated bluntly, but not coldly. "I was open."
"I would have," Timory answered. "What I did was more difficult, instead."
Matrim grinned, then let out a burst of roaring laughter from the depths of his throat. He looked at Timory with bright eyes, almost glistening with enthusiasm. "You were just playing around with me, weren't you?"
Timory's face was difficult to see through his helmet, but the smile was obvious. "Yeah."
"Let's do this right and proper, then," Matrim said, a growl of determination inflecting his voice. "Second round. What do you say?"
"I'm down. Second round," Timory repeated with a nod, then assumed some sort of charging stance - shield lifted at an upwards angle, but held low; sword at medium height, held back but pointed forward. Like a spring; a viper, ready to thrust its body in a bite. His feet were wide apart, but close enough that he could maintain the stance without losing too much stamina, and start running without too much delay.
Belladonna nodded to them both, then said, "Begin!"
This time, Matrim was the one who ran first. Sword only, no shield, body pitched forward.
Timory seemed to take that as a challenge and he charged in response, lifting his shield a little bit forward to cover his face and putting as much strength into his sword-arm as possible.
Matrim took advantage of that, jumping over a meter into the air and onto Timory's shield, using the momentum to his advantage.
Instead of clumsily slipping off, falling, or causing Timory to stumble, Matrim jumped even higher off of it, like a cinematic spring, up into the air. He did a somersault - kicking Timory in the back of the head to stun him - then landed behind him.
Matrim spun around, sword swinging.
Timory, instead of turning to be hit in the face, took advantage of his stumble and allowed himself to fall prone.
Once Matrim's swing reached its zenith, Timory rolled onto his back and bounced upwards, blade moving in a stab.
Matrim deflected it, then stepped back, breathing. "Ha-haa! That's brilliant, lad! How long could you keep this up?"
"This? A few minutes."
Matrim didn't frown, but his next statement had a hint of displeasure in it. "Train to get it up higher."
The old warrior dropped his stance, and Timory followed, lowering his armaments. Matrim continued to elaborate, "Short battles. Battles like this - between five or ten people. That's what you're good for, right now, if you learn to distribute your energy evenly. But a war? The battles you'll be fighting, lad - they're arduous contests of stamina and power for all combatants involved. They might last hours, and so will you. If you run out of juice a few minutes into the actual fight, you'll be useless."
Timory nodded, then had Sylvester move and help him out of his armor. Once he was done, Lazara approached to speak with him.
"That was awesome, Tim!" she chirped. Her gaze lowered into a drawn expression. She looked him in the eyes. "But... Matrim's right, you know? You gotta train more. I want you to join my combat lessons. We could learn together, before you have to go."
He looked down and smiled. "I will."
###
That evening...
"Either you're fretting, or you're under attack. Please tell me what's going on and why you're taking pills, because if you don't I'm going to need to check you and everything you touch for tampering."
Her father blinked once. Then twice.
"I'm taking alchemical pills to replace sleep because I have been working overtime," he explained. He definitely wasn't expecting that to come out when she stopped him in the hallway.
He hesitated to speak further. He actually shuffled his feet, shifting. It looked almost childish, but he was too old and the beard ruined the image.
"Daevina has... your mother, told me about your... circumstances, Lazara. I've been worried, so at night; me, Sylvester, and some priests from the local congregation have been doing rounds and placing blessings around the grounds. I am doing most of the work, since I can imbue the earth with protective light, but they're helping. Not just here, either, but also in the town. Around the province. I've been working out patches in our security, too."
"Really?" Lazara asked. She wasn't doubtful but surprised at her father's dedication.
"Lazara, dear." He knelt, his face growing bitter and guilty.
He looked into her eyes for a long, long moment.
She was taken by surprise when he hugged her. She didn't resist the hug, but she was too surprised to reciprocate fully.
He continued to speak in a hushed voice, "I know I haven't shown it much over the years. I've been a bad father; too preoccupied with other things, with looking regal... but I love you. You're my daughter, and I love you, and I don't want you to ever forget that, okay?..."
He breathed in through his nose, with a sound that indicated it was runny.
"And after what you told your mother, I was scared..." He shook his head. "I still am - we're both scared. We're making preparations for whatever it is you're afraid of."
"You believe me?" she asked, doubtful in retrospect.
She felt him nod.
He didn't explain that he believed she had visions. Or ask her for confirmation. There was no doubt.
He just nodded. He just believed her.
No.
Lazara tried to keep the dumb smile off her face, but she couldn't. Her eyes were glassy and wet, and yet she was so comfortable. She leaned into her father, wrapping her hands around his back and letting her eyes close.
Enough of this....
The moment lasted for a while longer.
Death to all of you.
Finally, they parted and looked into each other's eyes, both smiling.
Hollow. Destroy the child.
Her father rose suddenly, his eyes going empty as he looked forward. All expression was void from his face, as if he was gone. Lazara was surprised by the sudden change of behavior. He either really was tired or... Lazara began to move back slowly, but he didn't react in any way.
She took that as permission to leave and began to speed up, but kept her eyes fixed on where he stood. This was creepy.
For a moment, Lazara hesitated, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Dad? A-are you okay?"
She gasped when he lifted a hand at her, his eyes changing. Patterns of light danced in his irises, white crisscrossing filaments in various arrangements, shifting and moving constantly; angular, rather than curving. His palm began to glow, and light everywhere else dimmed. A small orb of light formed in his hand and kept growing to the size of a peanut.
For some reason, she instinctively understood the technique, for all its similarity to her own magic. He was taking light in the area and charging it into his hand, to save energy on evoking light out of nowhere by himself.
Lazara felt like a deer in the headlights. "Dad? Dad, you're scaring me. What are you-"
The light in his palm bulged into the size of a lemon, and he must have deemed that satisfactory because he shifted it to take aim. His white, hollow eyes stared at her, promising death.
Act.
[] Panic.
[] Panic.
[] Panic.
[] Scream.
[] Panic.
[] Run.
[] Write-in.
[] Scream.
###
Savior Panel
"What do chess-players call this situation? Ah! Check..."
Savior Panel
"What do chess-players call this situation? Ah! Check..."
It's 24th Goldleaf, 1310, in the late evening, roughly 19:30.
Your father has gotten emotional and vulnerable, and unlike your mother, he is tired physically and mentally. Wards and abjurations or not, the Adversary decided to come knocking when the opportunity showed itself.
Your father is currently under the effect of a very powerful pseudo-magical effect. Although supernatural in origin, it is not strictly "a spell," being a magical effect that is "one step above" that. Lesser forms of dispelling will not work, and strong anti-magic will be required to get rid of the effect. Simple one-word repelling charms and exorcisms will not work - he must be bound and then undergo extensive procedure for Adversary to be dispelled. Additionally, Pholion Lightbrook will not feel pain, will not be anywhere near as shocked/stunned/dazed by injury as he should be, and cannot be knocked unconscious by ordinary methods - Adversary will just force his brain to reset to working order if that happens.
Appealing to his emotions is unlikely to work, but feel free to convince me otherwise.
All of the servants are busy downstairs, making clean-up work. The chef or some cooks may be present in the kitchen, but what can they really do to help you? Timory, as far as you know, should be in his room, or training in the courtyard - a gamble to try to find him. Belladonna is either in her room or in the workshop. Matrim is likely in his room on the third floor. You have no idea where Snake is; likely slithering around somewhere. The last time you saw Sylvester, he was leaving the mansion, so he's either in town, or somewhere outside.
Warning: It is unadvised to "just run," as your father is all but 2.4 seconds away from firing a concentrated blast of light at you. That's impossible to dodge, and has enough power to cause 4th-degree burns and kinetic damage equivalent to a very strong punch - if aimed well-enough, it can have lethal consequences.
You are eleven-years-old, so physical action (wrestling with your papa,) is unlikely to yield results and will likely result in having your neck snapped by Adversary.
As far as offensive spells go, you can mimic his "steal light and fire it in a blast," schtick, focus it into rays and lasers that can blind people or imbue the light with "hardness" to allow it to deal kinetic and thermal damage. You can also choose any color of the rainbow, such as blue or red, and "attach" an elemental payload to it. For example, red light is an excellent carrier for the fire element, while blue is better suited for water or wind. Your Enlightening Glasses are currently in the right breast pocket of your dress. If you don't want to wait for light to draw into your hand, you can also generate it from nowhere, but that costs considerably more energy.
If it's any consolation, the blast will produce a sound equivalent to a bottle cap being popped off. If someone overhears it, they might investigate.
Currently, you are on the second floor of the mansion. Here is a roughly-drawn (very roughly-drawn; there may be some slight inaccuracies due to brevity/me being too lazy to draw,) map: (Blue dot = Lazara, Red dot =
No supplementary actions are allowed until the current conflict is resolved.
Feel free to ask questions.
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- Location
- PA
Alright, round one, here we go.
That we got the warning up explains why he's been tired, but it seems we also made him vulnerable via draining his strength...
This is...Not precisely what I was worried about but I figured some priestly training would have been a good idea given how the Adversary seemed explicitly vulnerable to those trained in Spiritual matters. Also because I had less 'sneaky Light-casting Rouge' and more 'learn Spiritual/conceptual Light to accompany physical Light mastery' in mind for the character. Probably should have said that earlier.
So. I'm going to veto trying to blind him. Why? Because while tempting, I'm not certain the Adversary won't be able to cancel it out. On top of that, even if it does work and the Adversary cannot cancel the effects, I don't trust that he can't use his own capabilities to spot for Pholion.
Honestly, attacking Pholion is not the way to go by the looks of it, even ignoring the Adversary's ability to prevent us from hampering him, that's our DAD, he's going to have to deal with whatever damage we do to him, that's how this game works. So Defensive measures are the way to go...
[X]Plan: Self-defence.
-[X]You can't dodge the projectile, but you can dodge your father's aim. Use a Feint to make him miss.
-[X]Don't attack Pholion, he is possessed, go find Sylvester, the old priest might be able to do something. Tell anyone you encounter to seek him out if the oppertunity presents itself.
That we got the warning up explains why he's been tired, but it seems we also made him vulnerable via draining his strength...
This is...Not precisely what I was worried about but I figured some priestly training would have been a good idea given how the Adversary seemed explicitly vulnerable to those trained in Spiritual matters. Also because I had less 'sneaky Light-casting Rouge' and more 'learn Spiritual/conceptual Light to accompany physical Light mastery' in mind for the character. Probably should have said that earlier.
So. I'm going to veto trying to blind him. Why? Because while tempting, I'm not certain the Adversary won't be able to cancel it out. On top of that, even if it does work and the Adversary cannot cancel the effects, I don't trust that he can't use his own capabilities to spot for Pholion.
Honestly, attacking Pholion is not the way to go by the looks of it, even ignoring the Adversary's ability to prevent us from hampering him, that's our DAD, he's going to have to deal with whatever damage we do to him, that's how this game works. So Defensive measures are the way to go...
[X]Plan: Self-defence.
-[X]You can't dodge the projectile, but you can dodge your father's aim. Use a Feint to make him miss.
-[X]Don't attack Pholion, he is possessed, go find Sylvester, the old priest might be able to do something. Tell anyone you encounter to seek him out if the oppertunity presents itself.
DeepWaters
No one will be the wiser.
- Location
- Land of Spiders and Shipping Charts
If we can't dodge the projectile, I don't think we can feint either? At least not to the point that it completely misses, so it will still injure us. Might be worth a shot, though. However, the last time we saw Sylvester, he was leaving the mansion, so he's either outside or in town-- he should be part of the plan, but not a good idea to depend completely on him. Our options are Timory, Belladonna, Matrim, and Snake. Timory might be in his room or training in his courtyard, and we have no idea where Snake is. Matrim is probably on the third floor in his room. Belladonna is likely either in her room or the workshop, both on this floor.
I think (...) we should try and reflect the projectile somewhere else, first of all, like a mirror. @Birdsie Can we manage that? If so, is there anything particularly loud and breakable nearby we could redirect it into? If we can't, feinting to minimize the damage might be our only option, but if we can't take the pain we're done for. After that (...) Belladonna's the closest person with a reliable location, though I'm not sure if she can restrain a possessed Lord Lightbrook without killing him?
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Hence why Adversary says "Check."
The way he sees it, he's forced you into a lose-lose situation: Either sacrifice a pawn to protect yourself, or you can add a "mate" to that check.
If you are asking me whether Lazara is capable of "deflecting light by materializing a mirror, or an effect with mirror-like properties, strong enough to fully deflect what Pholion is about to throw," the answer is: "Maybe."
Lazara's specialty of "Guiding Light," grants her: "High bonuses to all spells and magic conceptually related to: "light," "photons," "brightness," "rainbows," and smaller bonuses to all related concepts and fields. Especially if it is supposed to aid another, or be used for divination/clairvoyance."
The effect is intended to "deflect light by forming a mirror," so it gets a high bonus. Forming it will be an instinctive affair, but it's still risky without training. The addition of the "mirror" and "deflection" properties complicates the effect, but both are tied to light so it's not that bad.
Mind you, Lazara right now is scared. The intense emotion of fear will boost all magic meant for self-defense; accidental casting and all that.
It's a coin toss, really. If you can write down the incantation/self-hypnosis Lazara would use to achieve that, you could convince me to increase the odds. Keep in mind you have more or less two seconds to react.
There is a vase to your left, just next to Pholion. Alternatively, there is a large window down the hallway, behind you, as well as down the hallway behind Pholion.
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The idea is basically the whole 'ninjas don't dodge bullets, they dodge the guy holding the gun'-like even if Pholion's light bullet spell is too fast for us to dodge, we can still avoid it via dodging him shooting it at us-presumably, if it's too fast for us to dodge once in-flight, it's also too fast for him to actively re-direct it...
Of course, I'll admit if the spell can track and home in on us we're going to be screwed...
As for an incantation...
"You wield light, but I love light. My father loves me, and I love him. The Light you would hurt me with is too full of love to hurt me, both from my love of it, and the love of the Father who holds it."
Alternatively? We go find Snake- he's talked about magic to control others and how it works, and I bet he can do something to screw with the Adversary's control. And push come to shove, he also said something about the longer he controls someone, the harder it is to make it work-the victim gradually grows a resistance to him. So stalling for time I think should be an option unless the Adversary's abilities surpass the Snake...
PLAN ALTERATIONS!
[X]Plan: Snake Defense.
-[X]You can't dodge the projectile, but you can dodge your father's aim. Use a Feint to make him miss.
--[X]Don't attack Pholion, he is possessed, go find Snake-he deals with enchanting minds, perhaps he can do something to fix what's wrong with Father. If he needs a bribe, you can offer him willing control of yourself.
---[X]If you encounter anyone, and have an oppertunity, tell them to go find Sylvester-he might recognize what's happened to Father.
Alternatively...
[X]Plan: Spirit Defense.
-[X]"You wield light, but I love light. My father loves me, and I love him. The Light you would hurt me with is too full of love to hurt me, both from my love of it, and the love of the Father who holds it."
--[X]Run for Sylvester, telling anyone you find along the way to go fetch him or the other priests.
DeepWaters
No one will be the wiser.
- Location
- Land of Spiders and Shipping Charts
Think that incantation is probably too long. We have two seconds and a bit; we'll be lucky to get past the second sentence. I really have no idea what goes into a good incantation, but I guess I'll give it a shot.
Aside from that, we need to run afterwards (...) and there's pretty much nowhere to run aside from the kitchen. The corridors are a straight shot for the Adversary, and the supply closet only has one exit. Here's to hoping the cooks aren't in.
@Birdsie, can we create a darkness effect by removing light, or is that too difficult/conceptually divorced?
Aside from that, we need to run afterwards (...) and there's pretty much nowhere to run aside from the kitchen. The corridors are a straight shot for the Adversary, and the supply closet only has one exit. Here's to hoping the cooks aren't in.
@Birdsie, can we create a darkness effect by removing light, or is that too difficult/conceptually divorced?
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
It's less about the words or clever rhyming, and more about the meaning; evoking emotion in oneself.
Alternate methods of incantation include speaking in spiritually-receptive languages to better communicate with the soul, but you don't know that.
You've never tried before, but "removing" or "transporting light" is an effect that can be achieved by magic, and since it is light-related, it gets a bonus.
DeepWaters
No one will be the wiser.
- Location
- Land of Spiders and Shipping Charts
I have no idea how effective it will be, but here's my crack at a plan.
[X] Plan Smoke & Mirrors
-[X] Create a reflective effect in front of you to deflect your father's missile, preferably into the vase next to him but otherwise anywhere but at your father himself.
--[X] "I am the mirror; your light is my light!"
-[X] Immediately after, buy time by casting a spell to remove the light from the area around you and your father, plunging it into darkness. If you can manage it, keep backing away while casting the spell.
--[X] "My light is my own; my absence is shadow!"
-[X] Scream for help as soon as the incantations are finished, running down the corridor to your room, then into Timory's room through the bathroom. Put on your Enlightening Glasses on there. Use it to follow your father's movements and avoid him, preferring to head downstairs in the hopes that Sylvester is outside or to find Belladonna or Matrim if your father blocks the nearest way down.
-[X] Call for help whenever you have the breath, and tell anyone you find along the way to go get Sylvester or the other priests because the Lord Lightbrook is possessed.
[X] Plan Smoke & Mirrors
-[X] Create a reflective effect in front of you to deflect your father's missile, preferably into the vase next to him but otherwise anywhere but at your father himself.
--[X] "I am the mirror; your light is my light!"
-[X] Immediately after, buy time by casting a spell to remove the light from the area around you and your father, plunging it into darkness. If you can manage it, keep backing away while casting the spell.
--[X] "My light is my own; my absence is shadow!"
-[X] Scream for help as soon as the incantations are finished, running down the corridor to your room, then into Timory's room through the bathroom. Put on your Enlightening Glasses on there. Use it to follow your father's movements and avoid him, preferring to head downstairs in the hopes that Sylvester is outside or to find Belladonna or Matrim if your father blocks the nearest way down.
-[X] Call for help whenever you have the breath, and tell anyone you find along the way to go get Sylvester or the other priests because the Lord Lightbrook is possessed.
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