Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
To be totally honest with you I find this entitled and condescending dismissal more annoying than nearly any amount of hand wringing.
You were just writing about how you knew this was a bad way to convince people of stuff.
Publicly lamenting needing to deal with all the idiots who don't agree with you immediately afterwards requires social density on par with a neutron star or deliberately doubling down on being a dick.
Only if we collectively decide to be petty children about it. If both sides of this issue insist on smacking their heads into a brick wall until something gives then the issues with it and all the people motivated to vote by them will still be there.
We have a compromise option that completely eliminates the conflict though, so it'd just be self inflicted.
- Location
- Germany
I'm very pro-transhumanism for Infernals.
I would find it more honest if we transcended our need for sleep with a mix of Charms and the Qiao ofr restoring WP (can't remember the name).
To note we have already started on getting the latter and we do plan to eventually do the former, if only to ignore our Nightmare Flaw.
Now we pick a weird half-solution that relies on regularly producing Malfeccino, a solution that does provide more AP, but does not also allow us to ignore the nightmares and restore WP more efficiently than sleeping would.
Yzarc
The Spark of Madness
No. What the formula does is safely compress 8 hours of sleep into 1 hour of sleep.
IT DOES NOT ALLOW US TO SKIP SLEEP.
I am sorry for the CAP but people keep arguing against it by saying it skips sleep. It does not.
- Location
- Germany
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
It doesn't even allow us to skip sleep.
We definitly will get the tools to skip sleep and its associated issues like nightmares and limited WP-recovery eventually, so this seems like a wierd half-step towards our transhumanist goal.
Yzarc
The Spark of Madness
Perfect is the enemy of Good enough. We will not get the tools for at least two Sessions. So that is the point as it also narratively sets us down that path.
Not when you remember it's something we can give others, allowing us to have them to gain advantages in this domain without being us.
And frankly, given how this one is already disputed by some, I wouldn't necessarily count on us getting the best ones at any points, that's part of the thing, we have this now, not the other methods that could maybe help otherwise, and some of those methods requires more investment, so why not use this now, instead of waiting for the other things? That's just a waste.
[X] All the time (Gain 2 AP which can be used to double up on Actions with multiple AP progress)
-[X] Empathy excellency, BSM
-[X] Write in explanation to your parents: it is super-coffee. It doesn't have adverse effects. You could probably feed it to a toddler and the only issue would be the grief they cause their parents. It doesn't stop you from sleeping, it makes you need less sleep. It isn't addictive. You can and will show the recipe to Harry to look over before starting using it. If they observe that your mental or physical health are deteriorating somehow, you'll stop. And if they want to, you are more than willing to give them a cup to try.
--[X] Stunt: You move, hair still wet from the morning shower, into the kitchen where both your mom and dad are, a steaming pot of coffee on the counter. Filling your cup your join them: "So, apparently my vast cosmic powers come with super coffee recipes now. I guess I can always start working as a barrista for the supernatural folk if the whole 'make diamonds and protect community' thing falls through" you say: "It's a blend that will reduce the need for sleep to one hour per night, with zero side-effects, and the effect lasts for a whole week. I plan to use the free hours to try and get more things done, and I was planning on sharing the recipe with Harry; he could certainly use more hours in a day. Would you also like some? It'll take a bit to brew though, and I'll have to order some ingredients - the super-coffee is actually quite hard to make".
-[X] Empathy excellency, BSM
-[X] Write in explanation to your parents: it is super-coffee. It doesn't have adverse effects. You could probably feed it to a toddler and the only issue would be the grief they cause their parents. It doesn't stop you from sleeping, it makes you need less sleep. It isn't addictive. You can and will show the recipe to Harry to look over before starting using it. If they observe that your mental or physical health are deteriorating somehow, you'll stop. And if they want to, you are more than willing to give them a cup to try.
--[X] Stunt: You move, hair still wet from the morning shower, into the kitchen where both your mom and dad are, a steaming pot of coffee on the counter. Filling your cup your join them: "So, apparently my vast cosmic powers come with super coffee recipes now. I guess I can always start working as a barrista for the supernatural folk if the whole 'make diamonds and protect community' thing falls through" you say: "It's a blend that will reduce the need for sleep to one hour per night, with zero side-effects, and the effect lasts for a whole week. I plan to use the free hours to try and get more things done, and I was planning on sharing the recipe with Harry; he could certainly use more hours in a day. Would you also like some? It'll take a bit to brew though, and I'll have to order some ingredients - the super-coffee is actually quite hard to make".
[X] Yog
We should definitely make plans to trade/gift these to people. It's too bad that Charity probably wouldn't be able to bring herself to use it herself even if she accepts Molly doing it.
I have a suspicion that Charity, mother of seven, hasn't been able to take seven hours to herself since sometime before Molly was born.
Trade wise it's probably not worth the time to sell it for cash given our other resources, but as favor fodder it could be very profitable. Especially since we can likely reliably hit the longer shelf life crafting rolls.
If we do get into that business on a broader level we should package it like this:
Keep the font for the labeling though.
Looking of Molly's income of over 400k a month and figuring that works out to about 4 dots of resources. Good to start with to launch into the 5+ dot range.
OK, vote closed, let's see how this goes.
Flora and Fauna of the Fivefold Courts of Fate
So, I promised flora and fauna of the Fivefold courts, with illustrations. I am trying to keep my promise, but this is definitely "done is better than perfect" state. The Wastes are pretty much done, and while I would like to write more about the Forests, I think it's good enough. I haven't covered the Cities themselves, and Great Labyrinth remains a blurb, basically. I'll have to go back and expand and redo some stuff over the next week or two. I very much hope for feedback here (and yes, I realize it's hypocritical of me when I haven't even had time to read through Mu and provide feedback). I'll try and do marine life in more detail. Also, I'll admit, I am deadly scared of this being "too much" and taking the setting in the wrong direction, taking the charm away. Please don't consider this as anything final. All is subject to change.
So...
So...
The students of biological mysteries discern five main biomes that together form the world: the Wastes, which are in turn separated into the Inner and Outer Wastes by the ring of Forests, the Cities resting on top of their poles and separating the Forests into five distinct regions, the Storm perpetually raging in the skies above, and the Great Labyrinth at the core of the world.
This treatise is not a full compendium of all life inhabiting the realm. For such, should it be of interest to you, you are advised to beseech Infinite Library or question the nooshperic keepers of knowledge, and to clear several years of your itinerary to read through material provided. Here, you will find examples of the most symbolic species of flora and fauna of your realm, your esteemed Majesty, so you can familiarize yourself with your domain.
This treatise is not a full compendium of all life inhabiting the realm. For such, should it be of interest to you, you are advised to beseech Infinite Library or question the nooshperic keepers of knowledge, and to clear several years of your itinerary to read through material provided. Here, you will find examples of the most symbolic species of flora and fauna of your realm, your esteemed Majesty, so you can familiarize yourself with your domain.
The Wastes
Covering the largest portion of the world-to-be, the Wastes are vast frozen expanses, cold enough that oxygen cannot fill the lungs of its inhabitants, but flows in great and microscopic rivers framed by bronze superconducting banks. In fact, by volume of free flowing liquid, Wastes lead all other regions of the World-to-Be. Only the lightest of gases compose the air, and at significantly lower than normal pressure: helium hydrogen, neon. Life as it is known in your home world, your Exalted Majesty, is utterly impossible here, frozen as it would be almost immediately. Of your loyal subjects, only the gurvels are capable of surviving out there unassisted; all else require heavy support, be it their thaumaturgical gifts, or sophisticated environmental protection and life support suits.
Yet, the Wastes are far from empty. They are an abundant, near endless treasury of natural resources, featuring nearly all elements of the periodic table, from neutronium to orichalcium. The perpetual iron blizzard above, the leylines thrumming with energy below, and the radiation generated by unstable element deposits provide plenty of power sources for life to feast upon in the absence of conventional light and chemical reactions.
Most forms of life inhabiting the Wastes are incredibly alien to the ones that can be found in the Forests of the cities. Pentagonal symmetry is common, and, for life that utilizes liquid solvents, boranes are most widespread, instead of water or sulfuric acid.
Inner and outer Wastes are separated from each other by the Forests, and are only connected ecologically through the turning of the Wheel and by the connectorms deep underground. As such, despite commonalities in the environmental conditions, distinct differences exist between their biomes.
The Outer Wastes act as a natural pressure relief valve of the World's ecology, balancing the great power of the Wheel and life's endless ability to replicate itself by constantly sweeping the unfortunate life caught in the eternal blizzard off the edge of reality.
Lethal as the nakehono forests are to any denizen of five cities, even with the more sophisticated personal defenses available, they are home to a multitude of species. The adaptation methods vary – some constantly secrete potent solvents; others generate static electricity to charge their fur and repel the nakehono feeder layers. Entropic fields, thermal, and even metric sheer layers are employed by more thaumically active beings. One particular species called kanimaki, a type of a small pack oriented guverloid possesses a series of renewable superconducting buzzsaws magnetically locked around each joint of their body, which they can use to a multitude of purposes – from attack and defense, to travel and communication, where modulating the rotation of the saws generates sound and thermal bloom.
They probably should be darker, and more alien, but these are still illustrative.
Yet, the Wastes are far from empty. They are an abundant, near endless treasury of natural resources, featuring nearly all elements of the periodic table, from neutronium to orichalcium. The perpetual iron blizzard above, the leylines thrumming with energy below, and the radiation generated by unstable element deposits provide plenty of power sources for life to feast upon in the absence of conventional light and chemical reactions.
Most forms of life inhabiting the Wastes are incredibly alien to the ones that can be found in the Forests of the cities. Pentagonal symmetry is common, and, for life that utilizes liquid solvents, boranes are most widespread, instead of water or sulfuric acid.
Inner and outer Wastes are separated from each other by the Forests, and are only connected ecologically through the turning of the Wheel and by the connectorms deep underground. As such, despite commonalities in the environmental conditions, distinct differences exist between their biomes.
The Outer Wastes act as a natural pressure relief valve of the World's ecology, balancing the great power of the Wheel and life's endless ability to replicate itself by constantly sweeping the unfortunate life caught in the eternal blizzard off the edge of reality.
The most iconic plant species of the Wastes, is, of course, hukapanui. Also known as the consumer ice, the nature's treasury or simply as crop, it is, in strictest biological sense, not a plant, but rather a colony of microscopic organisms, ranging from bacteria to almost entirely mechanical nanoassemblers, all existing in perfect symbiosis and incapable of surviving on their own. It is a an example, a symbol even, of a perfected principle of consumption, and reproduction. Each part of the colony is specialized on digesting and repurposing different materials into various other species that constitute the colony. Some bacteria digest liquid nitrogen and iron to form nanoassemblers than in turn utilize the energy of uranium radioactive decay to shape virii on a molecular level, which, in turn, decompose corpses of animals caught on the feeder spikes of the colony into more bacteria. In principle, there is no element, and no type of energy that the hukapanui colony cannot repurpose for its benefit.
Outwardly and without special equipment, a colony of hukapanui looks like jagged, multicolored block of ice, not that different from natural landscape of the wastes, if, perhaps, a bit more likely to have sharp edges and needle-like protrusions. These "ice" pillars can reach hundreds of meters in height, and spread over many square kilometers forming deadly forests. When looked at with a microscope or a sufficiently powerful vision enhancement, the surface of the ice blocks can be seen to be covered in micrometer scale fuzz-like growth. This growth, acting as ultra fine sandpaper, gives the surface of colony adhesion capabilities exceeding those of most commercially available glues, causing everything that comes in contact with the colony, including outer skin layers of any animal unlucky enough to touch it, to become fuel for the colony's growth. The objects caught in the adsorption layer of the colony's outer wall are quickly invaded by the protrusion growths and decomposed into their base elements. An average human body, if thrown on top of a large enough colony would be completely digested in, at most, minutes.
The internal structure of a hukapanui crystal may appear chaotic to someone uneducated, however, it follows clear patterning in accordance to geomantic nature of the environment the colony finds itself in, developed iteratively to take in and repurpose the mystical energies in order to strengthen and enliven the whole of the colony. Hukapanui is not intelligent in any sense of the word, however, through the subtle and absolute mechanisms of the Wheelturn, all of the colonies are connected, and capable of responding as a whole to the present dangers. When one growth is destroyed, parts of it will return in the other colonies scattered through the world, and the balance of those colonies will shift in response, producing a defensive reaction against the type of threats more likely to destroy the types of symbionts that went through the turning of the wheel.
Hukapanui, despite how dangerous it might be in its native environment, is incapable of surviving outside of the frozen Wastes. The temperature we might find more comforting would result in its more mechanical parts quickly overheating and breaking down. The presence of gaseous oxygen would oxidize the fine structures of its feeder layers, and corrode its internal support structures.
The massive Crop forests are the fuel of Five City industries. Regular expeditions descend from the great pillars and venture forth into deep Wastes in order to cut down great swathes of the treasure ice and to bring them back to the cities, where they will be processed and the materials present in them extracted.
Outwardly and without special equipment, a colony of hukapanui looks like jagged, multicolored block of ice, not that different from natural landscape of the wastes, if, perhaps, a bit more likely to have sharp edges and needle-like protrusions. These "ice" pillars can reach hundreds of meters in height, and spread over many square kilometers forming deadly forests. When looked at with a microscope or a sufficiently powerful vision enhancement, the surface of the ice blocks can be seen to be covered in micrometer scale fuzz-like growth. This growth, acting as ultra fine sandpaper, gives the surface of colony adhesion capabilities exceeding those of most commercially available glues, causing everything that comes in contact with the colony, including outer skin layers of any animal unlucky enough to touch it, to become fuel for the colony's growth. The objects caught in the adsorption layer of the colony's outer wall are quickly invaded by the protrusion growths and decomposed into their base elements. An average human body, if thrown on top of a large enough colony would be completely digested in, at most, minutes.
The internal structure of a hukapanui crystal may appear chaotic to someone uneducated, however, it follows clear patterning in accordance to geomantic nature of the environment the colony finds itself in, developed iteratively to take in and repurpose the mystical energies in order to strengthen and enliven the whole of the colony. Hukapanui is not intelligent in any sense of the word, however, through the subtle and absolute mechanisms of the Wheelturn, all of the colonies are connected, and capable of responding as a whole to the present dangers. When one growth is destroyed, parts of it will return in the other colonies scattered through the world, and the balance of those colonies will shift in response, producing a defensive reaction against the type of threats more likely to destroy the types of symbionts that went through the turning of the wheel.
Hukapanui, despite how dangerous it might be in its native environment, is incapable of surviving outside of the frozen Wastes. The temperature we might find more comforting would result in its more mechanical parts quickly overheating and breaking down. The presence of gaseous oxygen would oxidize the fine structures of its feeder layers, and corrode its internal support structures.
The massive Crop forests are the fuel of Five City industries. Regular expeditions descend from the great pillars and venture forth into deep Wastes in order to cut down great swathes of the treasure ice and to bring them back to the cities, where they will be processed and the materials present in them extracted.
So, this is straight up Command and Conquer Tiberium. I'm not even trying to hide it. I just fluffed it out, wrote some technobabble that mixes together titanium dust being sharp enough to slice DNA and tungsten fuzz, and put it in there.
The reason I am putting tiberium into the Kingdom is because I really want for there to be a reason for denizens of Five Courts to interact with the frozen wastes outside their cities and the forests. And I don't want boring "we put down a base with good thermal insulation and drill for oil" type of interaction (though that's probably happening too). I want actual expeditions, that are at least somewhat dangerous. I want there to be brave grizzled men and women in protective (power) armor riding giant harvesters into the dangerous forests that would eat them alive at first mistake. I can't have sand worms for lack of sand (though I still have worms), but tiberium? That I could write.
And it actually works fairly well, I feel, including with Molly's history. Don't worry, these don't have [Perfected Principle of Consumption] taint or anything like that. But they are very much life's ultimate harvesters of resources.
Tungsten fuzz, the idea I had for the surface, is a real thing, you can google it. It doesn't work like nanoscale sandpaper, but that's what magical biology gives you.
The reason I am putting tiberium into the Kingdom is because I really want for there to be a reason for denizens of Five Courts to interact with the frozen wastes outside their cities and the forests. And I don't want boring "we put down a base with good thermal insulation and drill for oil" type of interaction (though that's probably happening too). I want actual expeditions, that are at least somewhat dangerous. I want there to be brave grizzled men and women in protective (power) armor riding giant harvesters into the dangerous forests that would eat them alive at first mistake. I can't have sand worms for lack of sand (though I still have worms), but tiberium? That I could write.
And it actually works fairly well, I feel, including with Molly's history. Don't worry, these don't have [Perfected Principle of Consumption] taint or anything like that. But they are very much life's ultimate harvesters of resources.
Tungsten fuzz, the idea I had for the surface, is a real thing, you can google it. It doesn't work like nanoscale sandpaper, but that's what magical biology gives you.
Nohongata, commonly known as the wastehut or ascetic's root, this plant is perhaps the one most adapted to the perpetual nature of the Wheel's rotation, and the perfect opposite of hukapanui. The surface parts of this plant consist of a large number of black liana-like branches all interweaving with each other to form a multilayered shell. Oxygen-rich oils glisten on the surface of the branches, completely sealing the insides of the plant in a giant thermally insulating bubble that protects the internal roots from harsh climate of the outer wastes, where these plants commonly dwell. The uniqueness of wastehut lies in its method of reproduction and the cycle of its life. Where hukapanui thrives in its environment by being able to feed on everything, in the course of evolution, the nohongata discarded almost all ability to obtain nourishment from its environment. It doesn't process minerals from the ground to turn them into organic compounds, nor does it generate energy via nuclear decay and elemental transformation, like many other creatures of the wastes or cultivate the power of the storms, whether in the form of electrical energy or photosynethses.
In the proper scientific terms, it is a necrophage and necromorph, drawing nourishment and reproducing by means of its own Wheelturn. Over the course of its natural lifespan, which can last for tens of thousands of wheel turns, the ascetic's root does one thing and one thing only - it forms a spherical shell, creating a warm and insulated microclimate for a multitude of seedlings contained within. As it ages, its body slowly transforms, metabolizing itself, until only thermally insulated shells remain, filled with highly energetic organic compound that can be described as organic thermite. When its time comes, the wastehut undergoes a rapid decay, the shell breaking on the inside, spewing its contents inside the bubble. The ultra-nutritional compounds react with oxygen reach oils in a highly exothermic reaction. If this happened anywhere, but in the deep wastes, this would have led to, at best, a rapid fire, and more likely to a fiery explosion. In the ascetic's root area of habitation, however, the result is just enough that for the next several hundred cycles, the internal temperature of the plant is high enough to support life similar to the one more common in the Forests.
The multitude of seeds grown during the plant's life sprout, nourished and awakened by the temperature increase and a presence of the only digestible food their kind has – the remains of their ancestors. The seeds will grow within the dark and warm hollow shell, until they either break it, run out of nourishment or space, and unavoidably die themselves.
The inevitable turn of the Wheel will bring the plant – both the progenitor and the progeny, back to life in due time. With luck, the wastehut would re-emerge on the site of one of its previous turns, and nourish itself with its and its children decaying remains to grow larger still.
Lack of any natural defenses, besides a relatively tough outer shell, and extreme energy desnity of its soft insides make it a natural target for a number of other species that exist in the harsh conditions of the Wastes. As a result, paradoxically, the less populated the area is, the more likely it is to find an intact wastehut there. They are most common in the far edges of the Outer Wastes, near the border of the realm, where the winds are great and the lights of the distant moon and storm are the dimmest.
It is known that some denizens of five cities, who for one or another reason find themselves in the Wastes and not immediately dead, such as those pursuing the doctrine of escapism, also shape the wastehuts as shelters. Some historical evidence suggests that during the great escape from Ancestral Prison, this was a common practice as our ancestors braved the inner wastes towards the Forests and the Poles on which the Five Cities were founded. Certainly, no other plausible explanation for how our ancestors, who lacked our advanced environmental defenses could have made the journey.
Besides its potential historical significance, Ascetic's root is of a great cultural value. It is considered by many a living symbol and an epitome of ascetic movement. A being so advanced in its enlightenment, that it takes no bounty from the world, instead fueling its life's journey only with its own history and luck. Some extreme ascetics seek to imitate it. The ritual practice of Sokushinbutsu, in which a practitioner repeatedly undergoes purification and self-mummification, undergoing multiple wheel turns while surviving by consuming their previous incarnations in order to symbolically and mystically concentrate their self to achieve further enlightenment is inspired by the ascetic's root. In the most extreme cases, sages on the road of selfishness were known to bind themselves mystically to ascetic root plants so that they are reincarnated together, and remove themselves from the civilization, forever sealing themselves inside black branches.
In the proper scientific terms, it is a necrophage and necromorph, drawing nourishment and reproducing by means of its own Wheelturn. Over the course of its natural lifespan, which can last for tens of thousands of wheel turns, the ascetic's root does one thing and one thing only - it forms a spherical shell, creating a warm and insulated microclimate for a multitude of seedlings contained within. As it ages, its body slowly transforms, metabolizing itself, until only thermally insulated shells remain, filled with highly energetic organic compound that can be described as organic thermite. When its time comes, the wastehut undergoes a rapid decay, the shell breaking on the inside, spewing its contents inside the bubble. The ultra-nutritional compounds react with oxygen reach oils in a highly exothermic reaction. If this happened anywhere, but in the deep wastes, this would have led to, at best, a rapid fire, and more likely to a fiery explosion. In the ascetic's root area of habitation, however, the result is just enough that for the next several hundred cycles, the internal temperature of the plant is high enough to support life similar to the one more common in the Forests.
The multitude of seeds grown during the plant's life sprout, nourished and awakened by the temperature increase and a presence of the only digestible food their kind has – the remains of their ancestors. The seeds will grow within the dark and warm hollow shell, until they either break it, run out of nourishment or space, and unavoidably die themselves.
The inevitable turn of the Wheel will bring the plant – both the progenitor and the progeny, back to life in due time. With luck, the wastehut would re-emerge on the site of one of its previous turns, and nourish itself with its and its children decaying remains to grow larger still.
Lack of any natural defenses, besides a relatively tough outer shell, and extreme energy desnity of its soft insides make it a natural target for a number of other species that exist in the harsh conditions of the Wastes. As a result, paradoxically, the less populated the area is, the more likely it is to find an intact wastehut there. They are most common in the far edges of the Outer Wastes, near the border of the realm, where the winds are great and the lights of the distant moon and storm are the dimmest.
It is known that some denizens of five cities, who for one or another reason find themselves in the Wastes and not immediately dead, such as those pursuing the doctrine of escapism, also shape the wastehuts as shelters. Some historical evidence suggests that during the great escape from Ancestral Prison, this was a common practice as our ancestors braved the inner wastes towards the Forests and the Poles on which the Five Cities were founded. Certainly, no other plausible explanation for how our ancestors, who lacked our advanced environmental defenses could have made the journey.
Besides its potential historical significance, Ascetic's root is of a great cultural value. It is considered by many a living symbol and an epitome of ascetic movement. A being so advanced in its enlightenment, that it takes no bounty from the world, instead fueling its life's journey only with its own history and luck. Some extreme ascetics seek to imitate it. The ritual practice of Sokushinbutsu, in which a practitioner repeatedly undergoes purification and self-mummification, undergoing multiple wheel turns while surviving by consuming their previous incarnations in order to symbolically and mystically concentrate their self to achieve further enlightenment is inspired by the ascetic's root. In the most extreme cases, sages on the road of selfishness were known to bind themselves mystically to ascetic root plants so that they are reincarnated together, and remove themselves from the civilization, forever sealing themselves inside black branches.
I think the idea is clear here. I thought to myself "what would weird evolutionary branches be in a world where immortality through resurrection is almost guaranteed"? The answer was "something that survives and grows by eating the corpses of its previous incarnations". If one thinks about it, it's an ultimate survival and propagation strategy. The next question was "how does the system not collapse into a cancerous mess?" and the answer was "very slow metabolism, and its tasty, everyone eats it, and if it gets eaten, it doesn't get to actually reproduce".
Then I noticed how I created an ultimate symbol of asceticism, and there's definitely spirituality in the Fivefold Court. Something that went beyond being vegan for moral reasons, beyond even "eating" sunlight and minerals from the soil. I remembered about a real-life practice of Sokushinbutsu, i.e. living self-mummification, and considered how it would work in a world of immortality through resurrection. And thus it became "ascetic's root" and a symbol and part of some very extreme practices.
It all tied itself together. So, here, giant ascetic arctic holy tumbleweeds that some people use as houses in the deep wastes, and some as tombs and meditation places. With branches filled with a weird mixture of fat, honey, and thermite. I didn't initally connect it to my tiberium idea, and only got to "these are direct opposites of philosophy" after writing both.
Then I noticed how I created an ultimate symbol of asceticism, and there's definitely spirituality in the Fivefold Court. Something that went beyond being vegan for moral reasons, beyond even "eating" sunlight and minerals from the soil. I remembered about a real-life practice of Sokushinbutsu, i.e. living self-mummification, and considered how it would work in a world of immortality through resurrection. And thus it became "ascetic's root" and a symbol and part of some very extreme practices.
It all tied itself together. So, here, giant ascetic arctic holy tumbleweeds that some people use as houses in the deep wastes, and some as tombs and meditation places. With branches filled with a weird mixture of fat, honey, and thermite. I didn't initally connect it to my tiberium idea, and only got to "these are direct opposites of philosophy" after writing both.
No illustration this time, couldn't think of how to make one that's interesting.
Nokehono, also known as connection or link worms, are technically, the only living being observed surviving in all parts of the World, from the outer layers of the Ancestral Prison to the outer fringers of the Wastes. They share some similarities and might be very distant relatives of the demonic feed maggots, sometimes summoned by practioners from several hell realms. They are deceptively simple and fiendishly confounding creatures.
Ranging in thickness from little thicker than an adult tocatli thread to as wide as a grown man's arm, and in length from a couple of millimeters to almost a meter, nokehono are multisegmented round worms, and probably the simplest active thaumaturgists. The primary ability of a nokehono is the one it uses both for travel and as a feeding method.
When moving, nokehono redistribute heat and chaos along their bodies. The area behind them is leeched of heat, freezing to the point of near absolute zero, while the area before them is heated, the ice, and, in some cases, even metal, melting and allowing nokehono to swim through them, all the while filtering its contents through its digestive tracks. At the same time, the heated area becomes more orderly, fractal patterns and strange crystalline structures self-organizing in the melt, while what is left behind as the worm's excretion exists in the state of maximum possible entropy.
Moving in large migrating swarms deep underground, nokehono circle the world in a spiral, starting their existence on the outer borders, and ending somewhere close, and perhaps inside, the Great Labyrinth. They trace patterns of leylines, and counter the rotation of the iron blizzard above the ground. This led scientists to believe that nokehono are sensitive to the magnetic fields and the patterns of essence flow, even if laboratory studies do not show them reacting to artificial magnets, and indicate only very weak reactions to thaumaturgical invocations. The depth at which they travel and the lack of identifying features make it hard to study their relation to the Wheelturn mechanisms. No breeding mechanisms were observed via dissection, leading to a hypothesis that all nokehono found so far are actually larval forms or non-breeding forms of some other, as yet undiscovered creatures, native to the Great Labyrinth.
The best modern thaumometeorological models cannot fully explain the temperature gradient and the temperatures observed in deep Wastes. Based on the amount of radioactive material, the potency of ley lines and the severity of the endless storm, the temperatures should be far higher than observed. One of the possible explanations for the discrepancy that has been gaining ground in academic circles in the last several hundreds moon cycles is that the nokehono collectively act as a sort of energy transfer mechanism, always transferring heat and order towards the center of the world. What this hypothesis lacks is the explanation of where the difference goes. If the link worms are indeed the cause for the Wastes being as they are, and if the heat and order end confined somewhere in the core depths of the Labyrinth, then at least some estimates suggests that a self-sustained fusion reaction should be occurring there, possibly contained through the constant influx of axiomatic order. Further investigation of the Prison would be required to even begin answering these questions.
Separated from their swarm mates and prevented from following them on their endless journey, worms enter a lethargic state. If roused via thaumaturgical prodding, they'll enter a frenzy and start burrowing into whatever is in front of them, using their ability to their full extent, quickly burning themselves out. This is sometimes used by ambitious burglars to burn through locks and safe doors.
Ranging in thickness from little thicker than an adult tocatli thread to as wide as a grown man's arm, and in length from a couple of millimeters to almost a meter, nokehono are multisegmented round worms, and probably the simplest active thaumaturgists. The primary ability of a nokehono is the one it uses both for travel and as a feeding method.
When moving, nokehono redistribute heat and chaos along their bodies. The area behind them is leeched of heat, freezing to the point of near absolute zero, while the area before them is heated, the ice, and, in some cases, even metal, melting and allowing nokehono to swim through them, all the while filtering its contents through its digestive tracks. At the same time, the heated area becomes more orderly, fractal patterns and strange crystalline structures self-organizing in the melt, while what is left behind as the worm's excretion exists in the state of maximum possible entropy.
Moving in large migrating swarms deep underground, nokehono circle the world in a spiral, starting their existence on the outer borders, and ending somewhere close, and perhaps inside, the Great Labyrinth. They trace patterns of leylines, and counter the rotation of the iron blizzard above the ground. This led scientists to believe that nokehono are sensitive to the magnetic fields and the patterns of essence flow, even if laboratory studies do not show them reacting to artificial magnets, and indicate only very weak reactions to thaumaturgical invocations. The depth at which they travel and the lack of identifying features make it hard to study their relation to the Wheelturn mechanisms. No breeding mechanisms were observed via dissection, leading to a hypothesis that all nokehono found so far are actually larval forms or non-breeding forms of some other, as yet undiscovered creatures, native to the Great Labyrinth.
The best modern thaumometeorological models cannot fully explain the temperature gradient and the temperatures observed in deep Wastes. Based on the amount of radioactive material, the potency of ley lines and the severity of the endless storm, the temperatures should be far higher than observed. One of the possible explanations for the discrepancy that has been gaining ground in academic circles in the last several hundreds moon cycles is that the nokehono collectively act as a sort of energy transfer mechanism, always transferring heat and order towards the center of the world. What this hypothesis lacks is the explanation of where the difference goes. If the link worms are indeed the cause for the Wastes being as they are, and if the heat and order end confined somewhere in the core depths of the Labyrinth, then at least some estimates suggests that a self-sustained fusion reaction should be occurring there, possibly contained through the constant influx of axiomatic order. Further investigation of the Prison would be required to even begin answering these questions.
Separated from their swarm mates and prevented from following them on their endless journey, worms enter a lethargic state. If roused via thaumaturgical prodding, they'll enter a frenzy and start burrowing into whatever is in front of them, using their ability to their full extent, quickly burning themselves out. This is sometimes used by ambitious burglars to burn through locks and safe doors.
I remembered Avatar the Last Airbender, and how people learned magic by observing animals bending, like moles. So, I made bender worms. They do Dresden's trick of "take energy and entropy from one place and drop it into another".
I specifically left a lot of things vague about them, like whether they actually do go into the Caul sphere, and if there's a (green) sun somewhere inside that might or might not be the queen mother of all these worms, or stuff like that.
These are microscopic magical shai hulud that move deep underground and add flavor, and a bit of ecological connectivity between regions. This is me trying to ape Frank Herbert a bit and plot some actual ecology of the setting, even if its mostly (fully) background.
Of course it's possible to actually use them more. For example, say that inside the Sphere they undergo a metamorphosis and become some sort of hell butterflies, perhaps even sentient ones. Or says that they are all parts of one single giant distributed organism and are thus not part of the Endless Suffering mechanics. Maybe they are actual first circle demons of a slumbering second / third circle in the core of our world. Etc.
I specifically left a lot of things vague about them, like whether they actually do go into the Caul sphere, and if there's a (green) sun somewhere inside that might or might not be the queen mother of all these worms, or stuff like that.
These are microscopic magical shai hulud that move deep underground and add flavor, and a bit of ecological connectivity between regions. This is me trying to ape Frank Herbert a bit and plot some actual ecology of the setting, even if its mostly (fully) background.
Of course it's possible to actually use them more. For example, say that inside the Sphere they undergo a metamorphosis and become some sort of hell butterflies, perhaps even sentient ones. Or says that they are all parts of one single giant distributed organism and are thus not part of the Endless Suffering mechanics. Maybe they are actual first circle demons of a slumbering second / third circle in the core of our world. Etc.
Wastes are both the largest biome I have in the setting, and the most alien (save, perhaps, whatever might or might not be going in the inner layers of the Malfeas-inspired dyson sphere buried underneath the ice, the giant plasma torus hovering above the world, and the moon, which I am not covering because no one ever got there, and it definitely would exceed the Huge size limitation of the world). So, when writing their flora and fauna I tried to let my fantasy run wild. I wanted tiberium, that I knew from near the start. I also wanted something that would be philosophical / symbolic. My mind gave me the ascetic's root. The worms are where I started experimenting with "thaumic life", ie non-sapients that natively uses magic, to inspire and explain some magical traditions of the courts. They kinda ran away from me. At some point I think I thought about biopunk a bit, with the worms possibly being bred and farmed as living fiberoptics / landlines, but ultimately decided that would be too much.
At some point I tried to write chainsaw-man lizard monkeys in detail, but couldn't, so they are left with only a small line. I have some ideas and a detailed explanation of how they work, but can't bring myself to put it to the text right now.
Functionally the wastes as a whole serve to balance the amount of biomass in the setting. With immortality in place, one has to consider, where the material generated goes, and why the setting isn't a cancerous mass. The solution I came up with is as follows (when I make a consolidated post covering the whole court with updated grammar and illustrations for all parts, I'll cover it in the general explanation too):
1) When you die, you get reincarnated in a place you can survive in, with a high probability of that place having an arcane link to you. So, a citizen of the City of Endings is most likely to return in the city of endings, a bit less likely in some other city, and even less likely (there's a sharp drop in probability, but it's still possible) in a forest between the cities somewhere.
2) Your body and equipment gets left behind. Attuned equipment (see SUTRAs section) get go with you through reincarnation. You can't effectively farm equipment like this, as attuned equipment rapidly breaks down when the user dies (at the rate of body's decomposition)
3) The material that leaves the world disappears. The material that ends up in the Great Labyrinth stays in the Great Labyrinth. These are the two pressure release valves. The waste from the cities and biological material from the forests either ends up underground, where link worms eat it and transfer it into the sphere, or in the wastes, where hukapanui disassemble it, and eventually it ends up blow outside the world.
4) The rules for final death are different for sapient and non-sapient beings. For sapient beings, you only die after undergoing a special ritual in the city of Endings. For animals and especially plants the rules might be different. Like being killed by a sapient being, or being above ground for more than a moon cycle. I am not covering it at all, unless required. This is essentially my handwave - the nature takes care of itself to stay in balance, don't think too much about it (you all are going to think way too much about it, won't you?).
At some point I tried to write chainsaw-man lizard monkeys in detail, but couldn't, so they are left with only a small line. I have some ideas and a detailed explanation of how they work, but can't bring myself to put it to the text right now.
Functionally the wastes as a whole serve to balance the amount of biomass in the setting. With immortality in place, one has to consider, where the material generated goes, and why the setting isn't a cancerous mass. The solution I came up with is as follows (when I make a consolidated post covering the whole court with updated grammar and illustrations for all parts, I'll cover it in the general explanation too):
1) When you die, you get reincarnated in a place you can survive in, with a high probability of that place having an arcane link to you. So, a citizen of the City of Endings is most likely to return in the city of endings, a bit less likely in some other city, and even less likely (there's a sharp drop in probability, but it's still possible) in a forest between the cities somewhere.
2) Your body and equipment gets left behind. Attuned equipment (see SUTRAs section) get go with you through reincarnation. You can't effectively farm equipment like this, as attuned equipment rapidly breaks down when the user dies (at the rate of body's decomposition)
3) The material that leaves the world disappears. The material that ends up in the Great Labyrinth stays in the Great Labyrinth. These are the two pressure release valves. The waste from the cities and biological material from the forests either ends up underground, where link worms eat it and transfer it into the sphere, or in the wastes, where hukapanui disassemble it, and eventually it ends up blow outside the world.
4) The rules for final death are different for sapient and non-sapient beings. For sapient beings, you only die after undergoing a special ritual in the city of Endings. For animals and especially plants the rules might be different. Like being killed by a sapient being, or being above ground for more than a moon cycle. I am not covering it at all, unless required. This is essentially my handwave - the nature takes care of itself to stay in balance, don't think too much about it (you all are going to think way too much about it, won't you?).
Covering an equatorial ring only around one hundred and eighty kilometers wide, which connects the great city pillars together, the Forests are a kingdom onto itself. A place of wild and untamed life, fighting tooth and claw for its place under the light of eternal Storm above against any and all competition. This is a world of giant blue leaved trees stretching upwards in the fierce competition for light and lightning. Of numerous fast agile beings finding home under their shadowed canopies, from agile climbers sucking on capacitor-fruits and snacking on nuts that weren't fast enough to skitter away, to iron-armored many horned behemoths ponderously treading upon the ground. Near the edges between the Forests and the Wastes, sharp peaks give birth to fast streams of water that carve deep trenches in narrow valleys and end in giant lakes, swamps and steaming pits near the center of the equator.
Each of the five Forests is as unique as each of the Five cities, if not more, separated as they are by great city pillars. One is covered in swamps, the excess of organic detritus from ancient forests resulting in a treacherous plant covered glades ready to swallow an unaware strangers. Another features large swathes of dunes, great mounds of silica and iron dust forming an ever-shifting landscape. Yet everywhere there is life in all its great variety.
Some scattered small settlements exist in the Forests, both as resorts for the rich, and as a way to escape the city life for those who wish it for several turns of the Wheel. Life is hard here, harder in some ways than in the cities, with few supplies and strained logistics.
The Forest rivers and riverbanks are plentiful with a great variety of aquatic and amphibious species. A large number of them possess hard metal shells. They are prized for their taste and for medicinal and thaumaturgical properties of their hemolymph. They are the largest item of trade between the Forrest villages and the Cities.
Each of the five Forests is as unique as each of the Five cities, if not more, separated as they are by great city pillars. One is covered in swamps, the excess of organic detritus from ancient forests resulting in a treacherous plant covered glades ready to swallow an unaware strangers. Another features large swathes of dunes, great mounds of silica and iron dust forming an ever-shifting landscape. Yet everywhere there is life in all its great variety.
Some scattered small settlements exist in the Forests, both as resorts for the rich, and as a way to escape the city life for those who wish it for several turns of the Wheel. Life is hard here, harder in some ways than in the cities, with few supplies and strained logistics.
The Forest rivers and riverbanks are plentiful with a great variety of aquatic and amphibious species. A large number of them possess hard metal shells. They are prized for their taste and for medicinal and thaumaturgical properties of their hemolymph. They are the largest item of trade between the Forrest villages and the Cities.
I didn't have it in me to write detailed descriptions for each, so, here, have some illustrations instead.
thunder trees, are one of the species that comprise the great Forests. Reaching as high as two hundred meters, and covered in blue leather-like scales, they bear peculiar fruit in the large fractal crowns filled with sharp needle-like leafs. A sort of natural air gap capacitor, the fruits can store electrical energy. When lightning happens to strike the tree, its energy is redirected into the fruit through the large vessels filled with electrolytes within tree trunks. The energy is both a means of defense against predation, frying those critters who have not developed defenses against it, and to prepare the ground for a new growth – when the fruit drops from its great height, it discharges all of its energy into the ground, cooking it thoroughly and killing all the parasites within it, while leaving organic material intact enough to provide nutrients for the seeds.
The image I have in my mind is "tropical pine trees". Something that combines the aestetics of great northern forests, and the equatorial nature of the region I am describing, where great dinosaurs roam the ground. The electrical capacitor fruit (pinecones) are just a neat idea, I feel. I do a lot with electricty in the setting in general.
A staple of the outer Forest regions, where the temperatures range from ~250 to ~290 degrees, woolly porcupines are a species that has been of great use to the five cities. Reaching in length about half a meter, the porcupines are covered in long, smooth hair, which covers, and, in times of danger, can transform into, deadly needles. The transformation occurs as a result of special aromatic oils excreted by a number glands below porcupine skin, resulting in a highly disorienting and even hallucination-inducing odor cloud hovering near the agitated porcupine.
Woolly porcupines are a common farm animal, prized mostly for their fur, used for production of clothes and other textiles. Most porcupine farmers are tocatli, who supplement their animals' wool with their own threads. They are a source of many a common saying, like "you don't get whool without needles" and "if you sheer too close to the skin, you'll end up pocked", etc.
Woolly porcupines are a common farm animal, prized mostly for their fur, used for production of clothes and other textiles. Most porcupine farmers are tocatli, who supplement their animals' wool with their own threads. They are a source of many a common saying, like "you don't get whool without needles" and "if you sheer too close to the skin, you'll end up pocked", etc.
I wanted to make sheep without actually making sheep. And, as a poser that I am, I wanted them to be interesting. So, we get woolly porcupines. With needles underneath their fur, a skunk-like attacks, and ability to quickly harden their fur into more needles if agitated. Safe to say, this encourages humane care for them from the farmers.
The undisputed kings and queens of the equator, benehemoth walkers, or simply behemoths are a class of titanic animals that seems to be distantly related to gurvels. Reaching in height up to seven meters, and in length up to thirty, they are walking fortresses often covered in either thick metal plating growth or crystalline scale, they do not usually possess exotic biothaumaturgical adaptations – they simply don't need them, as their might is enough. They exist in a number of shapes – with and without wings, horned ad hornless, with limbs numbering from two to five. It is considered a feat of great strength to slay one in single combat; it is considered a feat of greater wisdom to tame one instead. In some monastic dojos, one or the other might be required to attain a title of grandmaster. A surprising amount of behemoth walkers possess wings, though only very few of them are capable of flight. Some biologists believe that, rather than a vestige of some earlier time, it is a deliberate mutation, caused by the thaumic class-wide resonance, prodding the walkers to adapt and conquer not just the ground, but also the skies.
Dinosaurs! I know that I promised. I ran out of steam around here, but I hope they still read and look interesting. Nothing conveys the spirit of untamed Hyperborean wilderness for me, where Conan-like adventures can be had, as dinosaurs roaming the ground
Generated as it is by a constant ongoing clash of the ferrous blizzard cyclone and anticyclone covering Inner and Outer Wastes, a titanic ring of hydrogen and helium plasma shines its reddish light upon the Cities and the Forests. Yet, even in the skies, which not even the greatest of minds were able to conquer yet, life of a sort exists. Observed primarily through telescopes, starbees are a plasma-based lifeform, using self-organizing dusty plasma as a substrate instead of more conventional solid or liquid organics. Approximately five to ten centimeters in diameter, despite their sizes they are closest in organization to single celled organisms. They constantly move through the edges of the plasma channel, feeding upon the material blizzard brings in. This keeps the central plasma channel clear of pollution, and prevents radiation collapse from occurring, allowing for a steady state reaction to be maintained. As a whole they act as a membrane, a skin of the storm.
This is a personal favorite of mine. I like the idea of plasma-based life-forms living in stars to be very cool. I couldn't really do this here, but I came up with something close. These work as a sorta cleaning mechanism for the great ring of plasma in the sky, eating up all impurities to make more of themselves. They might be cells of a single great organism and thus not subject to resurrection. In this case, the whole of the plasma ring would be.
In truth, little is known about Great Labyrinth's depths. No records survive from the time our ancestors seem to have left it, and even the very fact of such an escape is disputed by historians. If anyone still remains in the world since that time, they are not interested in talking. The exploration of the Labyrinth is made difficult by its many dangers, from inbuilt traps to almost universally hostile primitive tribes encountered in some of the farther great chambers. The mystic nature of the place makes it clear that it is indeed a prison – for even the Wheel cannot let someone escape it. Where normally someone's body failing would result in them returning somewhere they can survive with a higher probability given to the places that are arcanely connected to them, if someone was to be broken while inside Ancestral Prison, they would return in one of the cells somewhere in the great ever-shifting structure. As a result, very few brave or reckless explorer are ready to undertake scouting expeditions.
The flora and fauna of the Great Labyrinth, what little has been documented, seems to exist in a symbiosis with the structure itself. Moss that provides illumination and in some cases poisons the delvers with deadly radiation covers the walls. Glass bugs scurry through the pipes, subsisting on the toxic sludge accumulating on their walls and providing a necessary cleaning service. Great apes with rust-red fur are sometimes seen performing mindless repair-like actions in the damaged areas. Slugs lubricate the gears with their silicone oil secretions.
The flora and fauna of the Great Labyrinth, what little has been documented, seems to exist in a symbiosis with the structure itself. Moss that provides illumination and in some cases poisons the delvers with deadly radiation covers the walls. Glass bugs scurry through the pipes, subsisting on the toxic sludge accumulating on their walls and providing a necessary cleaning service. Great apes with rust-red fur are sometimes seen performing mindless repair-like actions in the damaged areas. Slugs lubricate the gears with their silicone oil secretions.
Great Labyrinth is supposed to be the most mysterious part of the setting. One of if not the most ancient thing, almost unexplored and very dangerous, waiting for an exalt to open it up. It is also clearly supposed to be something artificial, and designed to work as a whole. So, symbiotic creatures. Creatures that work as parts of the great whole.
When writing this, I wanted to satisfy two goals:
1) Make the flora and fauna something actually interesting to interact with. Do we want to hunt a dinosaur? Maybe our monk teacher would pursue enlightenment in his martial arts through self-mummification from which he can actually return, etc. Maybe we learn mana manipulation by observing how worms do it.
2) Make it make at least some ecological, if not biological sense.
I hope I succeeded at least a bit, and this adds, rather that detracts from the setting as a whole. It's definitely a work in progress (if I can find more strength).
The non-english names are mangled maori. I didn't want to use latin. I considered going to E2 and using Old Realm symbol construction guide I am sure I saw somewhere, but couldn't find it, and it was way too much anyway.
1) Make the flora and fauna something actually interesting to interact with. Do we want to hunt a dinosaur? Maybe our monk teacher would pursue enlightenment in his martial arts through self-mummification from which he can actually return, etc. Maybe we learn mana manipulation by observing how worms do it.
2) Make it make at least some ecological, if not biological sense.
I hope I succeeded at least a bit, and this adds, rather that detracts from the setting as a whole. It's definitely a work in progress (if I can find more strength).
The non-english names are mangled maori. I didn't want to use latin. I considered going to E2 and using Old Realm symbol construction guide I am sure I saw somewhere, but couldn't find it, and it was way too much anyway.
Vote Closed.
Arc 6 Post 4: Opening Up
Opening Up
30th of September 2006 A.D.
You move, hair still wet from the morning shower, into the kitchen where both your mom and dad are, a steaming pot of coffee on the counter. Filling your cup your join them: "So, I wanted to talk to you two about this" You motion at the cup to their increasing bewilderment. "Well not this specifically, the idea, the platonic ideal of coffee," You offer a sheepish laugh that is, mostly honest, it is a bit of insight you had stumbled upon. "My vast cosmic powers come with super coffee recipes now. I guess I can always start working as a barrista for the supernatural folk if the whole 'make diamonds and protect community' thing falls through."
From the way dad is starting to frown, not in anger, but in thought it's clear he is getting the idea. As for mom... yeah about what you would expect. Still she isn't interrupting you. You take that as a good sign and soldier on:
"It's a blend that will reduce the need for sleep to one hour per night, with zero side-effects, and the effect lasts for a whole week. I plan to use the free hours to try and get more things done, and I was planning on sharing the recipe with Harry; he could certainly use more hours in a day. Would you also like some? It'll take a bit to brew though, and I'll have to order some ingredients - the super-coffee is actually quite hard to make"
"No! Molly are you...?" Oops, apparently that was not a calm silence, more of a 'I'm at a loss for words' one. "You don't know what this thing does!" When you open your mouth to reply she just reiterates with emphasis and about a dozen or so decibels louder. "You do not know what this thing does, you know what it should do, but you know what they call drugs that some scientist somewhere thinks are safe? Experimental, they go through long trials, first on animals, then on healthy adults to get a baseline, then on the general population and when all that is done, then they start selling the stuff. Even with all that they still get it wrong sometimes."
"Well then I guess I'll never take another aspirin again in my life mom, because in case you haven't noticed I am not baseline anything," you snark back, in what you are reasonably sure isn't a very good argument, but is not as unhinged sounding as the other thing that comes to mind: 'I don't make mistakes,' no matter how sure you are that this is the case here.
"Molly," your name comes out half a sigh from dad, but you notice the way his hand brushes mom's as he shifts on the couch, an offer of support... and a plea to calm down. It's almost unnerving to be able to read them this well. You are no stranger to butting your head against the wall of parental disapproval, but usually you are just reacting. "I realize you are proposing this out of a desire to do good, the most good you can and I know how daunting that can be. There is a part of me that still wishes you never ended up here, but I hope you will believe me when I say that the reason I don't think 'super coffee' is a good idea is not just that, it's not just your dad getting in the way of saving the world like you are Kim Probable..."
You are morally certain dad knows the name of that show. Doesn't stop you from smiling and with that a bit of the tension goes out of the room
He continues: "If you do everything you can, give every part of yourself to the mission, then when there is a crises, when you have to pull out all the stops there won't be any stops to pull, or at least not any ones you want to contemplate."
"What if you just have more stops than everyone else?" you ask quietly.
"Molly everyone thinks that," Mom sounds more tired than angry, still angry mind, just not her primary emotion. "Just because you can push your body, your mind, your sleep schedule with magic doesn't mean it's a good idea."
"No Mom I mean that literally, what if I have the means, the lore, the sheer good fortune where I can push myself ten times harder than most people and still be twice as far from the edge? I don't know what I am just what I can do so far. Harry doesn't know, Lydia is more like me than not but she's still mostly in the dark. The only ones I think might know more are Queen M... ah the Queen of the Frosty Fey and the Archangel Uriel. What if I use the wrong yardstick now because I don't know any better and then people get hurt, they get killed or worse and then the next time there is an emergency I discover oh I could have done this all the time." You can feel dampness in the corner of your eyes and you are pretty sure that's not water.
Neither of your parents says anything for a moment that goes on forever, then. "Alright, I'll try it for two weeks, then stop for the next two" Mom says. "Goodness knows I could use the extra time, then if nothing unexpected happens to me you can do the same next month while I take it a whole month and if that still works out fine you can just... keep taking it."
It does not escape your notice that in two months you are going to be an adult anyway, but you can see that mom is trying. There's still ancient corpses sworn to hell and a cannibalistic god monster on the loose. Can you afford to just not take the super-coffee this month at all and only half of next month?
Do you take the compromise
[] Yes (6 AP this Turn; 6+1 Next turn and 6+2 on Following turns)
[] No, this is too important, you'll move out if you have to
[] Try to argue further
-[] Write in
OOC: Charity is indeed jumpy about drugs given Molly's history, but she is even more worried about something she's had to deal with for a whole of a lot longer being married to a Knight of the Cross, the threat of just burning out for the greater good. And Michael is right there with her because this is very familiar to him.
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Rolls
It's just Coffee Honest, yes this would have been DC 9 and basically impossible without excellency and DC Reducers, you are pushing all her butons
Charity Opposed Roll, this is familiar
Charity tries a counter-argument
Molly Willpower... Like Mother like Daughter
Michael keeping the peace
Molly noticing that he is not just warning her
Impassioned Argument
Charity... very reluctantly sees the point
It's just Coffee Honest, yes this would have been DC 9 and basically impossible without excellency and DC Reducers, you are pushing all her butons
Charity Opposed Roll, this is familiar
Charity tries a counter-argument
Molly Willpower... Like Mother like Daughter
Michael keeping the peace
Molly noticing that he is not just warning her
Impassioned Argument
Charity... very reluctantly sees the point
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[X] Yes (6 AP this Turn; 6+1 Next turn and 6+2 on Following turns)
It's a good compromise. A very good one actually. It make Charity more comfortable with magic. Two weeks of doing something each day is generally enough to form a habit. In a month time, I am fairly sure that Charity will think long and hard about using it more next month. Also, she is (in her mind) putting herself at risk, making herself a guinea pig to protect her daughter. That deserves a lot.
And we still should show it to Harry.
It's a good compromise. A very good one actually. It make Charity more comfortable with magic. Two weeks of doing something each day is generally enough to form a habit. In a month time, I am fairly sure that Charity will think long and hard about using it more next month. Also, she is (in her mind) putting herself at risk, making herself a guinea pig to protect her daughter. That deserves a lot.
Haven't considered burnout as an argument. In the future we could probably argue that since we'll spend the time tinkering, it actually counts as hobby time.
And we still should show it to Harry.
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OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
[X] Yes (6 AP this Turn; 6+1 Next turn and 6+2 on Following turns)
[X] Yes (6 AP this Turn; 6+1 Next turn and 6+2 on Following turns)
Yeah... Honestly, sleep does some interesting stuff brain-wise that has nothing to do with physical exhaustion, so I am a little worried about Charity trying this given she can't take a bleach bath and be restored. But I guess saying 'it's not safe for you' would be a poor argument for Molly using it so... Maybe do some stuff with Charity in upcoming turn or two if we can.
Yeah... Honestly, sleep does some interesting stuff brain-wise that has nothing to do with physical exhaustion, so I am a little worried about Charity trying this given she can't take a bleach bath and be restored. But I guess saying 'it's not safe for you' would be a poor argument for Molly using it so... Maybe do some stuff with Charity in upcoming turn or two if we can.
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