Okay, lets drop the noble or logical pretenses for why Zalan would want to find and save the other dragons that got yanked out of their dimension like he did and get down to the biggest reason Zalan would be so desperate to find a way to: To find and, if needed, save Tieran-Sha, ASAP. He's Zalan's best friend, longest friendship, and Zalan just showed his long buried, deep romantic feelings for Tier to him and Tier seemingly reciprocated that feeling. Zalan'll do everything he can think of and in his power to find Tier and save him if need be... Once Zalan has gathered some power, resources, knowledge, and is over this Tiamat-damned hangover so he can actually think...
Oh, and also after the emotional flood over all that's happened to Zalan is either let loose or can't be held back any more. Once it's loose he's gonna collapse into a blubbering, wailing heap for at least a few hours. Gonna need a safe place to let that happen, preferably sooner rather than later.
Anyway, here's my submission for the subverted binding spell visuals: Combined elements from The Genie, The Metatextozal and The Unhealthy Fixation. Golden manacles from The Genie to denote a safely bound being, as a nod to Edaine saying the binding visuals "shows other people that they can feel safe around a monster." Merged the Metatextozal collar with the harness from The Unhealthy Fixation into a new harness and added the Tozol emblem to the "shield crests" on shoulder and haunches. Shows Zalan still has Tieran-Sha on his mind just under the surface and that's strongly influencing the shape of the visuals. As for why the Tozol emblems and the emblem headband, I just like the look of 'em and their blue adds some contrasting color against all the gold.
Thinking about "complete global inversion of planar defences" and "binding inoculation being old-fashioned", I can't help but worry about how many dragons might have gotten ripped out of the homeworld and into servitude of one stripe or another.
The event that fucked the planar wards was centered on the hyperborean institute.
Tiamat willing, only those in the vicinity were at risk and then only those who weren't able to secure planar anchoring for themselves before the green fire swallowed everything.
Let's be optimistic and say there were only about five hundred dragons at the institute to begin with. In the best case the vast majority of them got to shelters and those shelters worked as intended, putting the number of nonconsenstial exiles around or below one hundred.
Worst case, the entire planet had its anti-incursion/summoning wards inverted. That it was described as an inversion, specifically, is extra worrying because the Institute was specifically set up where the defences were thinnest.
If what Zalan and co saw was the low end of things, where they had time to prepare and had a vague idea of what was going on, the rest of the world might have had little to no chance of doing anything at all before they got whisked into the unknown.
Zalan put the dragon population as fewer than ten million. Any significant percentage of that number getting isekai'd means anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dragons, of all ages and from all walks of life, either languishing in limbo or summoned, potentially enslaved, by who knows how many and what entities.
Zalan put the dragon population as fewer than ten million. Any significant percentage of that number getting isekai'd means anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dragons, of all ages and from all walks of life, either languishing in limbo or summoned, potentially enslaved, by who knows how many and what entities.
So we're looking at somewhere between "the entire faculty plus whoever was living within 100km of a high-energy planar research facility" and "whoever got caught outside a shelter without planar anchoring" for dragons in need of rescue.
From how I read the situation basically anyone trying to summon something had a chance at getting a dragon accidentally. Depending on how many planes there are, how many summonings happen on them, and the odds of them getting a dragon accidentally, there might not be anyone to summon by the time we've convinced them to repeat the ritual. This is leaving aside the problems with summoning them right next to a mage capable of binding them, and convincing the mage to do this in the first place.
The thing that attacked fulcrum, and that things magic, imho strongly look like something living in the same plane as a demon spider. If we assume that the realm it was trying to get back to was the same realm Edaine would try to summon a demon spider from then it seems very likely that the spell just dumped everyone affected into the night realm (from where they could be accidentally summoned)
Okay, lets drop the noble or logical pretenses for why Zalan would want to find and save the other dragons that got yanked out of their dimension like he did and get down to the biggest reason Zalan would be so desperate to find a way to: To find and, if needed, save Tieran-Sha, ASAP. He's Zalan's best friend, longest friendship, and Zalan just showed his long buried, deep romantic feelings for Tier to him and Tier seemingly reciprocated that feeling. Zalan'll do everything he can think of and in his power to find Tier and save him if need be... Once Zalan has gathered some power, resources, knowledge, and is over this Tiamat-damned hangover so he can actually think...
Oh, and also after the emotional flood over all that's happened to Zalan is either let loose or can't be held back any more. Once it's loose he's gonna collapse into a blubbering, wailing heap for at least a few hours. Gonna need a safe place to let that happen, preferably sooner rather than later.[...]
The thing that attacked fulcrum, and that things magic, imho strongly look like something living in the same plane as a demon spider. If we assume that the realm it was trying to get back to was the same realm Edaine would try to summon a demon spider from then it seems very likely that the spell just dumped everyone affected into the night realm (from where they could be accidentally summoned)
My thought is that it's also possible that since Zalan ended up in one of the two Night Realms and those lie outside and between the planes, that he wasn't pulled along in that creature's dimensional wake all the way to its intended destination. That he ended up dumped between planes 'cause there wasn't enough "juice" to get him all the way to the other side. Well, either that or it was just raw portal energy with no target so it just knocked him out of his plane into one of the Night Realms.
But this is all just speculation if that flying creature came from Tantara, which is where Zalan got knocked to by the green portal energy, or not. To settle it we need to get knowledge of the creatures that inhabit the depths of Tantara and see if any fit... And Edaine may just happen to have a book or two on that subject, since he was aiming to summon a spider demon from there.
I really doubt there's a shop anywhere in this world that sells size "dragon" clothes, and it doesn't appear a tailor is anywhere nearby so I'm thinkin' clothes aren't gonna be a thing for Zalan for a bit. I also have a feeling that the binding markings are translucent, so wouldn't make for effective clothing if Zalan tried that. So until Zalan gets some clothes he's just gonna have to remember to keep his tail low and be careful about how he moves and positions himself to avoid visually exposing himself to others.
But your words about clothing bounced off The Genie binding visuals in my head and gave me the thought of what Zalan would look like wearing PUFFY GENIE PANTS and I just had to make a edit to my binding visuals pic. I'm not wholly happy with it 'cause they cover up the "crests" on his haunches, but it's too funny not to share:
[X] "Sorry, but you've enslaved a civillian"
[X] Mention that you're literally a Grad Student with no combat experience. If they don't know what that is, explain it to them.
-[X] Can I interest you in some nice algorithms?
[X] Consider whether being a civilian kidnapped to join a war makes you a conscript. Huh.
[X] Hopefully being out here where there's more mana will help your condition. Drink it in. Have some water too.
You are tired. Possibly exhausted. This is shit. This is all shit. You're a grad student whose been thrown in at the deep end. To someone else's pool.
[X] be honest. You are a researcher, you found a danger too late to stop it. Still you did what you could to help others in danger, putting yourself at risk trading your safety for theirs. You worked along side someone you care deeply about, an ordinary person, not a mighty warrior like Adia, but a builder who still fought bravely with all he had. Now you are trapped away from home, you fear what fate has befallen your friend, you fear what has happened to your life and all the people in it.
[X] the binding didn't work. Your people, before they found a way to protect themselves from being summoned and enslaved at least found a way to protect themselves from the enslaved part. You mean them no harm, hell you'll probably when try and help them in their fight because that's just the kind of idiot you are, not because you're forced to. You'd really appreciate it if they'd maybe try and rescue your crush, uh, friend, who's a much braver and better combatant than you, despite being a builder not a warrior. He'll probably also help them because he's good through and through and can't stand to see people in danger or suffering.
[X] please could you get some clean water to drink, you feel like you've just done battle with an extra dimensional horror after unraveling the mysteries of the universe while under the influence of potent magics, then had your own freedom of will violently stripped from you, and you could really do with a moment or two to recover.
[X] you can probably manage listening and thinking while you recover, your job, your skill, is to take complex problems and break then down into smaller workable solutions and you're pretty good at it. Might as well start working on this one.
[X] oh you appear to be a very competent healer, is your current state something you could work on?
Maybe delay the truth about the binding ritual until Zalan is recovered and could realistically run away from them if they are agressively unreasonable about it?
Much better. It's actually stronger than he's used to, which shouldn't be a surprise, but still feels strange.
Quality is another question. It's been aspected by local geomancy and trees.
Back on Fulcrum, a vast collector network gathers near-pure mana as it falls from the sun, purifies it completely, and then supplies it to every dragon in whatever quantity they need through their core tap. Here, it just falls to the ground and takes on the aspect of its surroundings.
Right here, it's no problem at all. There's types of mana that are like trying to breathe through a straw to process safely, but this is just nature. It's fine.
Zalan doesn't trust that water, but he focuses on cycling his Breath node, respiring mana.
"Woah," says Edaine.
He pulls a construct, the one he's had strapped to his head, down over one eye and watches Zalan.
"You have... five souls?"
"Nodes. Not souls," Zalan says.
"I see..." Edaine says. "I've sometimes seen brief flares of spirit energy outside the soul when someone uses magic, but for you it's just... constant. Are there always five?"
"Yes."
Zalan frowns at the pond.
"Water to drink?" he asks.
"Ah! Yes, I have a trinket to filter that," Edaine says. "I'm... surprised you don't?"
"Do I look like I brought my things?" Zalan asks.
"I wasn't sure. I guess not. What I mean is, I'm surprised you don't have magicks on hand to do that. I mean no offense by this."
"I couldn't bring those either," Zalan says dourly. "My magick is... like your trinkets, mostly."
"Oh," Edaine says. "... Oh..."
Edaine stares off for a few seconds, then fumbles for his waterskin. Adia walks back towards the summoning structure.
Related question: How robust is a dragon's immune system? Is Zalan gonna have to worry about contracting some local disease, either mundane or magical?
Pretty robust...! But there's really no way to be sure.
Well, he does have that GP Medical module. He can use it to spot living contaminants, and sterilize them too. Using it to purify drinking water is a bit like cutting steak with a scalpel, but the steak will still be cut. Also in this metaphor he has a kit for making new scalpel blades.
Actually, a question about this - if binding magic was enough of a deal for dragons to ritually protect all their children from it for like, hundreds of years, can dragons do the inverse? The inoculation seems to subvert the binding process a little bit, and Zalan talked about having mental defenses, so are dragons a little psychic or something?
They can be. Zalan's personal attendant qualifies. But that's only meant for communicating with compatible mana-constructs.
There's stronger and more direct versions than that, of course, but those tend to be less subtle than you might expect. Zalan felt as much recently.
It's possible to subtly influence people that way, but quite difficult. What works better, if you're a dragon, is Breath-based magic to sound supernaturally likeable and convincing. That stuff might be ubiquitous by now if they hadn't figured out how to detect it.
That would follow, wouldn't it?
It's more dignified than being a slave, at least.
Maybe he should use the latter term in the hope of making Edaine feel as guilty as possible, but Zalan's not sure how far he should push that, considering the binding ritual didn't actually work. If he really milks it, and then they find out he's immune, he'll look like quite a jerk.
If he wants to have some kind of working relationship with the foxfolk later, he probably shouldn't deceive them too aggressively. And if he doesn't, he'll probably deceive them better by getting on their good side instead.
...On the other hand, Zalan is trapped on a shitty alien world and apparently supposed to die in a war he's never heard of, and he feels like garbage and might never see Tieran-Sha again and if he does see him then he might've fucked up the friendship aaaa...
[X] Make a mental note that Edaine might be the ticket to rescuing more dragons from the Institute that had the same fate as you. He and Adia seem desperate for something that can fight this Heivolur they mentioned, and once they find out that your combat capabilities are quite low, they may be willing to play the odds of nabbing a actually fight capable dragon from those who got drug into the Night Realms. Unfortunately, the big problem is he'll want to bind 'em, so you'd have to figure out a way to keep him from doing that. But that's gonna take a lot of thinking, so best wait 'till your hangover is over and you can mentally focus on it.
But how could he get Edaine to summon them without binding? Zalan spooked him greatly even with an apparent binding.
Failing that, would it be better to subject them to a binding if it means getting them out of the Tantara? Or if it means keeping them out of the hands of other wizards?
In theory, if they arrive in the Tantara intact, they could survive in stasis for years. But there's things that live in there...
Zalan drains Edaine's waterskin. It's just a mouthful for Zalan, but it helps. The fox begins refilling it from the pond, triggering some kind of enchantment to purify it. It's slow going.
"My thanks," Zalan says. "Now, can you explaining... explain what in the name of Hell is going on?"
Edaine gives him a look. The foxfolk seems frustrated, but Zalan can't read him well.
"Where to begin, ah... There's some kingdoms to the north of us. The largest of these is named Heivolur. A sorcerer-prince became king, and has managed to swear others to his allegiance. Now he's turning south."
Zalan nods, as though this were somehow normal.
"Why south? What do they want?" Zalan asks.
"It's good land, on the way to more good land," Edaine says. "But... I think it's really because of our reputation. As a legion."
"As... a what?" Zalan asks. The translation still isn't flawless.
"A long time ago, a foreign legion of the Portal Lords garrisoned here. So, when the portals stopped working, it made these lands a home, and their sorceror-general a king. He conquered, he enslaved, until he was betrayed by his own troops. They declared themselves free people. No kings, no slaves. Liberators and protectors-"
"No slaves..." Zalan mutters, and pokes at the collar formed around his neck. It resists for a moment, then lets his digit pass through, before reforming once he releases it.
"It... is not my intention to, do anything of that sort," Edaine says, flustered. He doesn't even sound comfortable saying the word.
"But you want me to fight for you, right? That's where this cute story's going?"
Edaine looks away, not responding immediately.
"...Yes," he says. "I don't want to-... it is not my intention to order you to."
"Are things really that desperate? You're some kinda cross-planar army, right?"
"Well... I'm not. My dad's a potato farmer, and my grandpa's a potato farmer. And before I was a trinket-maker, I farmed potatoes as well."
"Do foxfolk even eat potatoes?"
"On my honor as a potato farmer, we do."
Zalan makes a little huff.
"...My next angle was going to be that I'm a civilian," Zalan says.
"In... what sense?" Edaine asks.
Zalan thinks the translator must be struggling with the term.
"I'm a student."
"Oh. Are you a... child?" Edaine asks carefully.
"No, no! I'm thirty five." Zalan will need to need to figure out how long years are here. "I meant a... graduate student. That is, I've received accreditation but I'm still learning and don't count as a master of... anything."
"What sort of study does a dragon seek mastery of, if I may ask?"
Zalan exhales, trying to think of how to explain.
"I take machines, that other people built, and I write very complicated instructions to tell them how to think," he says.
"Yeah. They use a special type of spirit to do work."
"Ah! So you're a... priest?"
Huh? Oh. He's probably thinking about eidolons. Those are spirits that gain so much intentionality they achieve personhood. They're probably common in unmanaged high-mana zones. Sometimes people who don't know any better worship them.
I quite like this idea, but based on some practice sketches, I know I'll need to redraw it like five times every panel to avoid looking like he's wearing a tracksuit, so I have to veto.
I dig the combo ideas, but the results are kind of too complex, especially if he gets some clothes and equipment. Plus it needs to stick to just one color, I think.
I think Zalan would veto. He'd absolutely hate the chain. Plus the wings don't really fit the 'bound summons' aesthetic.
Definitely getting some favorability towards forehead symbol...
[X] Minimal changes
Shift the exisiting markings into a representation of Zalan's Crown and Breath nodes because he's a dragon, and then don't add any extra because if Zalan wanted tattoos he would have gotten them already.
Not sure about the female mercury symbol. Bit of a "well here it means S" issue.
I dig the earrings. And people seemed to like those elements from the Unhealthy Fixation. How about...
[X] See if they have the idea of scribes? Maybe explain you're kind of like a... trainee priest-scribe? Oh, check if they have books. They might not have the kind of formal higher learning you're used to, but there HAS to be a better parallel than just priest.
[x] zalan i know this is probably going to be the most horrifying realization for you since you arrived but to do whatever it is these foxes want you to do you are probably going to have to...
