Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Teloch · Aug 16, 2017

your team of lunatics so far

Lucifina (aka you, aka Lu, aka Lucy, aka Sparkling, aka Gosling)

Race: the new nameless humanoid species
Gender: Female
Age: biological - around 21 in human years; actual(?) - almost half a year (?).
Background: protege of a natural science scholar, unknown origins
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Follow the white cat" - you have a moody guiding spirit at your side who can boost your spirit aspect advancement should you get on its better side (+1 spirit arcane charge point after passing hard charisma attribute check (18)), expect its occasional interference.

"No one is an island" - you get 1 + n bonus to all social influence skills and CHA rolls when applied to teammates, where n is the number of steps of the target's affection tier beyond neutral (applies to both positive and negative affection dimensions). Additionally, get +3 to the mentioned bonuses if Amalia is around and can provide quick advice. Passive effect: unearth more insights on followers.

"It's in my blood" - you get a permanent +1 bonus to Intelligence and +1 to arcane skill. Actions that train arcane aspects have a 1/6 chance to double the yields unless the base earning equals or exceeds one full level. You are more prone to magic-related actions and thoughts. You might find it harder to resist the allure of magic in some situations.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	9		9	4
Constitution	16		16	11
Mobility	10	(+2 cond.)	10 (12 cond.)	5 (7 cond.)
Perception	11		11	6
Coordination	14		14	9
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	18(+1/3)		18	13
Wisdom	17		17	12
Charisma	20		20	15
Luck	4		4	4
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Dice bonus
Melee combat	1	4		5
Ranged combat	2			2
Arcane skill	7	7	(+1 cnd.day)	14 (15 cnd.day)
Defense	3	4	1 (+2 cnd.w.)	8 (10 cnd.w.)
Objects usage	2			2
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	7	1		8
Balance	2		(+2 cnd.w.)	2 (4 cnd.w.)
Sneaking	3			3
Reconnaissance	5	1		6
Persuasion	10	2		12
Intimidation	6			6
Haggle	7			7
Performance	8			8
Seduction	8			8
Geography lore	7	2		9
Nature lore	7	1		8
Arcane lore	7	5		12
Social and cultural lore	9	2		11
Craft lore	7	2		9
Lingual lore	9			9
Daily craft	6	2		8
Pharma and treatment	7	3		10
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	7	2		9
Art	7			7
Artificery	6	1		7
Burglary	5			5
Huntsmanship	4			4
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	7			7

Flight and wing-related traits

Wings skill level	13
Flight mastery level	advanced
Normal speed	above average, can forcefully accelerate to considerably fast
Maximum range	considerably far, anywhere up to twenty-eight kilometers.
Maximum height	considerably high (up to 250 meters)
Maximum extra lifting weight	low (10 kg)
Balance	above average, withstands weather and can try to regain without landing
Launching surfaces	solid grounds
Air feats	diving, gliding, hovering, thrusting, basic aerial spellcasting
Land feats	dodge extra propulsion, posing, enhanced balance, enhanced surface acceleration, shielding with wings

#1) Thaumaturgy level 7 (6/7 to level 8):

You can sense the activity of the entropic aspects within ~1000 meters radius, and unusual concentration/malfunction of other aspects within ~200 meters radius.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to constitution
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You regain mental strengths a little bit faster during the daytime.
Using thaumaturgy during the daytime requires less mental and physical effort.,
You can allegedly see prophetic dreams
You can temporarily nullify magic in ~30 meters radius or in a 45 meters-long 30' cone a few times a day, or emit an anti-magic field up to ~15 meters radius a few times a day.
you can temporarily amplify the aspects power around you once a day
you can temporarily amplify or suppress the aspects power of a target up to two times a day
You can try to scan surrounding areas for traces of planar breaching with very high odds to succeed and sense the short residue of extraplanar entities.
You can conjure light on the basic level (sparks, flashes, rays)
You can shape light on the basic level (flash explosions, molding into orbs, luminal barriers, luminal domes, wedges of solidified light, sparks strike)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill when exposed to the sun but also get -1 to arcane skill at night AND in dark places.

#2) Spirit level 7:

You are able of an advanced Nether-realm vision
You can assess the memory traces of objects and entities via nether-realm vision and tactile contact
You can sense soul sparks in ~75 meters radius
You can sense the sparks of the living, undead, minor spiritual beings, bound spirits, phantasms, genius loci, and some other spirits
You can sense concentrations of the Limbus energies, the thickness of the barrier, and traces of spirits from the material plane
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to perception
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You can scan the target's soul characteristics and receive advanced-depth results
You can try to smite a spirit
You can try to disperse a spirit
You can try to temporarily bind or scare off a singular lesser spiritual being
You can communicate with discovered spiritual beings

#3) ~Open affinity slot~

Your journal, a comfortable set of clothes, a plain dress, a custom-made set of lightened composite armor, an arming sword ("Holly"), a high-quality rondel ("Mercy"), a decorative blue ribbon, a silver necktie with a bounded spirit, superb leather harness.

Capable of crudely repairing clothes, making basic tailoring items like belts and patches, and producing low-effort/cost items like stuffed toys. Capable of applying first aid to prevent bleeding. Knows how to make and disinfect bandageware.

Ulren Kyres (aka Ren, aka Mountain boy)

Race: Bhiroth
Gender: Male
Age: 68
Background: mercenary, former soldier, outcast
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Not on my watch, not again" - shields Lucy from considerable harm in combat situations at own expense.

"I promise you that" - when in the same group as Lucifina, will make the second set of saving rolls to avoid critical health conditions.

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	21	+1	22	17
Constitution	21	+1	22	17
Mobility	14	-1	13	8
Perception	12		12	7
Coordination	15		15	10
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	18		18	13
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	9	9		18
Ranged combat	5	5		10
Arcane skill	6			6
Defense	10	10		20
Objects usage	6	3		9
Mounted combat	8			8
Willpower	6		-3	3
Balance	7			7
Sneaking	4		-5	-1
Reconnaissance	5	4		9
Persuasion	4			4
Intimidation	9			9
Haggle	3			3
Performance	3			3
Seduction	5			5
Geography lore	6	5		11
Nature lore	6	3		9
Arcane lore	6			6
Social and cultural lore	5			5
Craft lore	6	6		12
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	6	4		10
Pharma and treatment	5	2		7
Weaponsmithing	6	6		12
Armorsmithing	6	6		12
Tailoring	3			3
Art	4			4
Artificery	5	7		12
Burglary	4			4
Huntsmanship	5	2		7
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown, but he demonstrated feats of great balance, stability, and hardiness. Perhaps, he might have an undiscovered arcane aspect bound.

A very worn half-plate armor set, worn set of clothes, a glaive, mechanical mace with spare heads, heater shield, hand crossbow, one quiver of bolts, enchanted amulet (+1 STR +1 CON - MOB)

Semi-proficient in the daily craft. Adept in smithing (martial-level weapons and armor). Proficient in artificiery (lesser contraptions). Expert in picking/maintaining war gear, and capable of minor mechanical upgrades of such. Knows the basics of hunting and skinning.

Sephorah of house Terphor (aka Seph, aka Sephie, aka Princess)

Race: Daeva
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Background: Rosaline's agent, former slave, voluntary expatriate.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	15		15	10
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	16		16	11
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	18		18	13
Micromotorics	12		12	7
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	12		12	7
Charisma	18		18	13
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	7	6	1	14
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	4			4
Defense	6	5	2	13
Objects usage	4	5		9
Mounted combat	7			7
Willpower	4			4
Balance	8	8		16
Sneaking	7	8		15
Reconnaissance	4	4		8
Persuasion	6	5		11
Intimidation	7			7
Haggle	6	2		8
Performance	6	7		13
Seduction	8	7		15
Geography lore	4			4
Nature lore	4			4
Arcane lore	4			4
Social and cultural lore	5	6		11
Craft lore	3			3
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	3	2		5
Pharma and treatment	4			4
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	4			4
Tailoring	5			5
Art	5			5
Artificery	3			3
Burglary	4	6		10
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	4			4
Sorcery	4			4

Unknown if any. No signs of her having seeds of arcane aspects bound so far.

A set of clothes and undergarments, a superb set of compositive medium armor (manticore materials), a superb leather harness for bags and tools, a qualitative longsword "Ember", a parrying dagger, a quiver of tossing knives, a kit with burglar's tools.

You suspect she's incapable of legal manual labor aside from the bare basics of daily routines.

Karl Norskov (aka Mage, aka 'that' mage)

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: appears to be in the late thirties to early forties
Background: elementalist mage, major arcane enthusiast, disowned son of a noble family.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Old habits die hard" - when making an offensive arcane skill roll in combat and getting less or equal to four, reroll it (only the highest score counts). This perk also applies to combat rounds where Karl makes an arcane skill roll only for the defensive score.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	13		13	8
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	16		16	11
Intellect	20		20	15
Wisdom	16		16	11
Charisma	14		14	9
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	1			1
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	8	9		17
Defense	1	2		3
Objects usage	5	5		10
Mounted combat	2			2
Willpower	7	6	-2	11
Balance	1			1
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	6			6
Persuation	7			7
Intimidation	2			2
Haggle	5	1		6
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	7			7
Nature lore	7			7
Arcane lore	7	9		16
Social and cultural lore	8	5		13
Craft lore	8			8
Lingual lore	8	7		15
Daily craft	8			8
Pharma and treatment	9			9
Weaponsmithing	7			7
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailorng	8			8
Art	6			6
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	9			9
Sorcery	8	3		11

#1) Conflagration and radiation level 7:

You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to strength.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to intellect.
Your casting in dry weather or nearby fire sources amplifies pyromancy.
You can regain mental strengths faster near the heat sources.
You can sense and read the heat sources in a vast area.
You can channel the arcane powers to temporarily amplify own physical strength.
Your spellcasting uses both mental and physical strengths or the varying proportions of such.
You can temporarily infuse objects (including tools and weapons) with pyromancy powers.
You can conjure heat on the intermediate level (sufficient to melt iron)
You can suppress and channel heat on the intermediate level (rays, waves, charges, orbs, tactile)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill for every 3 points of STR above 10. This trait also applies -1 penalty to arcane skill for every 2 points of STR below 10. Does not apply in the case of arcane self-empowerment.

A worn set of travel clothes, a backpack, a grimoire (or a diary), an old pocket chornometer with a chain, an intricate smoking pipe

None you know about

Amalia Brant (aka Lia)

Race: Human (Eastlander)
Gender: Female
Age: Young adult
Background: Former maidservant
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Shipper on deck" - +3 To all social skill rolls against the companions with positive affection levels (neutrality affection level excluded). If previously gossiped with about other characters that she knows, can provide a one-time boost of +3 to all types of social interaction skill rolls to the requester.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	12		12	7
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	16		16	11
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	18		18	13
Intellect	12		12	7
Wisdom	20		20	15
Charisma	11		11	6
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	7	3		10
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	7	3		10
Mounted combat	4			4
Willpower	8	3		11
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	4			4
Reconnaissance	7			7
Persuasion	5			5
Intimidation	4			4
Haggle	5	4		9
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	8	2		10
Nature lore	8			8
Arcane lore	8			8
Social and cultural lore	6	2		8
Craft lore	8	3		11
Lingual lore	6			6
Daily craft	8	10		18
Pharma and treatment	7			7
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	5	9		14
Art	7	3		10
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	7			7
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	6			6

Uknown if any

Leather camisole of fair quality, compositive crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a bag of small tools, a rucksack, a set of road clothes, a plain cloak, a knife, a belt water bag.

Master of daily craft and inventory management. Fairly good cook (specializes in fried snacks) and knows how to correctly ration different foods. Good tailor, capable of qualitative repair of clothes and production of professional effort/materials goods like suits and dresses. Her designs lean towards practicality rather than fanciness.

Isaac

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Healer apprentice
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"We are of one blood" - Any non-hostile actions towards animals or beast folk have +4 bonus to attributes or skill rolls. Can use WIS instead of CHA for interactions with animals and beast folk (aka empathetic approach).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	13		13	8
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	17		17	12
Intellect	15		15	10
Wisdom	14		14	9
Charisma	7		7	2
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2		-5	-3
Ranged combat	5		-5	0
Arcane skill	6	6		12
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	6		-5	1
Mounted combat	3		-7	-4
Willpower	5	7		12
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	5			5
Persuasion	1			1
Intimidation	3			3
Haggle	1			1
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	5			5
Nature lore	5	2		7
Arcane lore	5	5		10
Social and cultural lore	3			3
Craft lore	6			6
Lingual lore	3			3
Daily craft	6	3		9
Pharma and treatment	6	7		13
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailoring	5			5
Art	4			4
Artificery	7			7
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	5			5

#1) Body level 5:

You can sense breathing and blood pulse of living entities in ~100 meters radius.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to constitution.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to charisma
You can scan the detailed physiological state of a target in many details including sicknesses, inflammations, as well as the state of physical integrity.
You can make an attempt for a minuscule boost of the physical performance of oneself or a target at the cost of own mental strengths.
You can accelerate the metabolism (and so, often times, the recovery from ailments or traumas) of living creatures at the cost of own mental and physical strengths.
You can try to numb the minor pain of a target living creature at the cost of both mental and physical strengths or share it with yourself with the low transference loss ratio

A robe with a hood, a bag with bandages and medications, an old iron amulet, a belt with tincures

Good at applying and synthesizing remedies. Capable of providing first and complex medical aid. Has some skills in inventory management.

Jorgen Ostgard (aka Jory, aka Craven)

Race: Human (Lyflander?)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Alchemist assistant
Status: Healthy


Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	18		18	13
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	15		15	10
Intellect	16		16	11
Wisdom	13		13	8
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	6	1		7
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	2			2
Objects usage	6	4		10
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	6			6
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	5	4		9
Reconnaissance	7	5		12
Persuation	2			2
Intimidation	1			1
Haggle	3			3
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	6			6
Nature lore	6	4		10
Arcane lore	6	3		9
Social and cultural lore	4			4
Craft lore	5	6		11
Lingual lore	4			4
Daily craft	5	3		8
Pharma and treatment	6			6
Weaponsmithing	5			5
Armorsmithing	5			5
Tailoring	5			5
Art	3			3
Artificery	6			6
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	6	6		12
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown if any

A robe with a hood, a traveling cane, a bag with small instruments, a belt with glasses, a rucksack

Good at synthesizing remedies or other compounds from both organic and inorganic ingredients. Fairly good at understanding how chemistry works and has an eye for experimentation. Capable of locating and recognizing substances. Has basic skills in inventory management and knows a thing or two about craftworks.

General condition: High morale, everyone's healthy, two weeks worth of food supplies, sufficiently-budgeted, low on alchemic reagents.
Money: 1081 Talers
Food: 82 food units (9 full days of sustenance on Bloom 28)
Food consumption: 8.5 food units per day

Lucifina - 1
Ulren - 2
Sephorah - 1.5
Karl - 1
Amalia - 1
Isaac -1
Jory - 1
Mount(s) - n/a (pasturing season)

Medication: 5 medicine units
Alchemy stash: 4 reagent units, 5 blank alchemical basis compounds (crafting boosters & subsidizes)

Free stash space: up to 130 kg

1 Incindiary bomb (great)
1 Regeneration potion (superb)
1 Regeneration potion (weak)
1 Stimulator/painkiller potion (weak)
1 Potion of momentum (Temp: +3 STR +3 SPD +3 COOR - 1 INT - 1 WIS - 1 CHA) (standard)

A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel)

Mounts: 1 workhorse (Softie)
Team's reputation:
Kheree hunters (Tevon-Talab militia) - CELEBRATED
The Lyf Kingdom (Lyflanders) - WELCOMED
Eastern Freelanders (Baathorians) - CELEBRATED
Central Freelanders (Tevons) - UNKNOWN
Western Freelanders (Ertanghalians) - UNKNOWN
Nyth-Rhathon (Bhiroths) - UNKNOWN?
Olfadir (Westlanders) - UNKNOWN?

Ship-o-meter

Lucifina

Ulren

Sephorah

Karl

Amalia

Isaac

Jorgen

Lucifina

X

Devotion (96)

Comradery (82)

Amiability (12)

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (44)

Neutrality (10)

Ulren

Devotion (96)

X

Friendship (58)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (38)

Amiability (20)

Neutrality (4)

Sephorah

Comradery (82)

Friendship (58)

X

Suspicion (-11)

Sympathy (34)

Amiability (16)

Neutrality (0)

Karl

Amiability (12)

Amiability (13)

Suspicion (-11)

X

Neutrality (9)

Amiability (13)

Amiability (14)

Amalia

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (38)

Sympathy (34)

Neutrality (9)

X

Sympathy (47)

Sympathy (32)

Isaac

Sympathy (44)

Amiability (20)

Amiability (16)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (47)

X

Friendship (51)

Jorgen

Neutrality (10)

Neutrality (4)

Neutrality (0)

Amiability (14)

Sympathy (32)

Friendship (51)

X

Tier	Relative numeric scale	Description
Devotion	91 to 100	You would likely self-sacrifice for each other if necessary
Comradery	71 to 90	You are deeply loyal to each other
Friendship	51 to 70	You have each other's trust
Sympathy	31 to 50	You have common interests, views, or simply find each other nice
Amiability	11 to 30	You are polite and good-willing toward each other
Neutrality	-10 to 10	You are strangers or largely indifferent towards each other
Suspicion	-11 to -30	You question each other's views and values
Distaste	-31 to -50	You avoid and distrust each other, but remain rational
Intolerance	-51 to -70	You dislike and disrespect each other
Scorn	-71 to -90	You avert and loathe each other, even if irrationally
Hatred	-91 to -100	You are at each other's throats

Teloch · Jul 7, 2018

Excerpt from "Journey to Kathor or Northman's glimpse on Daevas" by Gaillard Tveit, 2-nd edition.

We - the representatives of Pheotor's human cultures - grew to think that all Daevas are bright socialites, enthralling performers, passionate artisans, and shrewd diplomats. These assumptions carry some speckle of truth taken from the surface of the subject, but on the deep level, the circumstances that shaped these creatures into the race marveled by the open-minded and despised by the conservative species have little to do with subtlety we see in them. Once, when I only just arrived at the port city of Ussar - the home quarter of the Daevish loggia of sorceresses and one of the only two cities in Kathor - my curator from the receiving side told me that she's envious of me because I "can pluck the boons of this shore without having to stand in Bael's shadow". After nine days in this exotic land, I understood the meaning of this phrase and had many of the misconceptions about Daevas that I brought with me from the Lyf Kingdom utterly shattered.

The first part of the key to understanding Daevas lies in knowing their natural properties. It is common for the Pheotorian heartland scholars to consider these tall, shapely, and decadently-elegant creatures as a sub-species of the Alviz kind (often called Dark Alviz due to their distinctive skin color), however, this assumption has better odds of being false than true as an average Daeva has the muscle mapping closer to one of Roth races with only details and the mass/measures proportions of Alvizians. This similarity is especially strong when we compare the typical lower bodies of these races, with only the feet of Daevas being vaguely different. Unlike all known sapient races, Daevas are predominately left-handed and have such a noticeable distinctive feature as horns of different patterns (More rustic Daevas believe that the shape of horn depends on the temper of their owner. I haven't found proof to that yet). But the most distinctive feature of this race is the dynamic pattern of their lifespan, with the poorest Daevas who are constantly exposed to significant physical and mental discomfort having the lifespan around 57 years, and those at the top of the social hierarchy and with the very best life conditions ageing way past a half of millennia.

This sharp dependency between the living conditions and the expected lifespan is the main factor that shaped the society of Daevas, which is as steep and vertical as the obsidian tower of the Bael megacity. Due to the unimaginably slow rotation of elites that is caused by the biological reason we've mentioned, the social 'ladders' are very limited, making Daevas either fiercely compete for the chance to improve their social status (and with that living conditions and the expected lifespan) or to be pushed down to the plebeian rank by competitors. If we would take ten residents of Kathor, one of them would be from the top of the hierarchy - a representative of the ruling clans (which Daevas call the 'great houses'), three would be from the middle class (the reputable clans with their own business ventures, reputation, workforce hired from the commoners, and more often than not long history), and the rest would be commoners (small and usually poor families with almost no recognition or influence; sometimes disgraced families from the middle class).

Due to this physiological peculiarity and its severe social consequences, Daevas have to compete with each other on individual and familial levels in order to improve the well-being of their lineage. Because of it, Daevas also do not usually refer to in-species violence, as it would be a lose-lose situation for all sides involved. Instead, they compete via performance arts, social networking, business schemes, and intrigues. Especially intrigues. Many of those who can't or don't want to take part in this struggle for fame and power often leave their homeland, driven overseas by the hope of finding peace and happiness in less competitive states. But, regardless of wherever they venture to, they bear the mark of the Daevish culture, and with it the subconscious drive to excel in the ways of civility no matter the costs or risks - the obsessive trait inherited from their forefathers.

Teloch · Jul 7, 2018

The codex entry posted and edited (made a funny contextual mistake I'm too embarrassed to mention now)
The sheets are updated (did you know that our girl almost overcame the sharp ignorance debuff?)
I'll call the vote in ~12 hours. So, right now is the best time to vote, you know.

Raptor580 · Jul 7, 2018

[X] Inspect the place and its inhabitants
-[X] The second floor
[X] Do something / spend your leisure time at the facility (specify the action in the vote)
-[X] Attic
--[X] Eavesdrop at the person that attends the improvised 'shrine' out there (Very easy sneaking check (12))

[X] Distribution of the arcane aspects affiliations between different races
[X] Twin and multiple arcane aspects affiliations
[X] The lower arcane overview

Teloch · Jul 8, 2018

So, prowling the second floor and poking one's nose in places.

Come on my stalky dudes and dudettes, gimme a d20 roll for sneaking and, just in case, d20 roll for charisma

RideTheWalrus · Jul 8, 2018

So I totally would roll the dice if I knew how. Never have before. Didn't see it in the thread tools....

Anyway loving the quest. It's very unique and wow you can write some adorable scenes. Intense ones too. I am concerned however with your design for the readers. You have so many different options to vote for and some with more set up requires than a simple [X]. Then there are the write in options on too of that. None of these would be a real problem except you are running an original quest which usually have fewer players. Not a lot of participation here and many don't like to be first. I know I dont. Extra pressure you know? This combination just isn't working. I want this to continue. I want to keep exploring this world you have created but participation is so low already and feels likes it's been dropping. Hell I barely participate as it is and I've been following for a long while (yes yes im a hypocrite). I hope you simplify the voting process...at least until you have a larger voting base.

On a side note I'm fine with the winning vote. If I remembered to vote i imagine that would have been it.

Edit. Huh. So that's how.

veekie · Jul 8, 2018

Charismatic dice?

VagueZ · Jul 8, 2018

Well, I'm interested in the quest and I'm working to catch up. Sometimes that's can be what's going on, too: there's just enough stuff to work through that it feels like I don't want to vote while ignorant, so I need to finish my backlog...

Teloch · Jul 8, 2018

15 roll + 2 mod = 17 > 12
Our girl goes unnoticeable, so, @veekie , the charisma roll turned out redundant because of no need to justify stalkerish behavior.

@RideTheWalrus the quest always went like this, with 5-6 votes in average. However, I noticed that during the management votes (aka not the simple situational ones) people do tend to get confused. @Lazy Minx seem to struggle with those at times and the overall proportion of likes to votes suggests that more people follow this quest like a novel than take part in its direction (by the way, the number of lurker followers is amazing. *waves hands at lurkers* I see you guys!

). Ahem...

Even though I am an old RPG nerd who advocates player agency, I think I'm gonna avoid the obligatory write-ins and provide the management votes with a few presets with the option to make a custom plan. At the end of the update 2.8, I was sitting on a fence between leaving the write-in only or leaving it with 4 pre-made options. The thing is, the vote coincided with one of those options I never supplied, which means that the only thing it added was the initial confusion with the same outcome. So yea, I'll 'streamline' votes a bit, although not at the expense of the freedom of choice.

Anyway, gotta start writing. This one will be a rather big as it would have the consequences of your choices at the end of update 2.7. Expect a lot of interactions

Zakanian · Jul 12, 2018

Teloch said:
Dark starless skies and the pitch-black silhouette of what appears to be the belt of mountains and distanced forest. Black, ~~magneto~~, and purple hues

A yes, the iconic hues of red and purple that make up our night sky! Truly, a Marvel of nature.

Teloch · Jul 12, 2018

Zakanian said:
A yes, the iconic hues of red and purple that make up our night sky! Truly, a Marvel of nature.

One can see even stranger things in the dreams

BTW, Lucy will likely see some utter nocturnal strangeness once the conditions are met. I already designed this potential scene.
PS: I see what you did there

Teloch · Jul 12, 2018

Anyway, began two write the next one. In the meantime, check this media stuff:

Long ago, what starts at 1:33:30 of this performance, became a part of the inspiration behind Daevish design in this quest.

trope talks. Who doesn't like to discuss some tropes?

Teloch · Jul 20, 2018

I think today, closer to the night by UTC. Was hit by an extra idea and had to rewrite a bit. Expect very subtle references.

Teloch · Jul 22, 2018

You had some thoughts about training and all sorts of self-development lingering through your mind until it was set on poking around and finding out what was happening on the attic. The reasonable part of your mind dictated that it might be useful to meet someone you might not have met and see what else this manor has to offer, while the more... adventurous part demanded to poke your nose where you probably should not.

While thinking about it, a soul spark entered the radius of your perceptions, dubbed by slow footsteps. While you froze at your place, the noisy individual passed the doorway to your premise, proceeding further down the third floor's wing. Hearing someone stalking the manor at such an early hour was odd as well as thinking about a motive behind such occurrence. Is someone having bad dreams just like you or suffering from insomnia? Were you over-complicating things and this was just someone's part of the daily routines? The answer reached you when this 'stalker' slowed down near the studio and then entered it. It was exactly what you had been thinking about before the event happened - the attic 'shrine' attendant!

Once the spark reached its designated destination at the attic, you left your room, carefully threading through the corridor and trying not to make a single sound that might wake the sleeping denizens. Following the person step-in-step, climbing the ladder to the attic seemed like a bad move, and so you decided to eavesdrop through the keyhole of the door that is above the observatory. You slowly passed the above-mentioned barred place, with your bare feet sensing chill spreading from under the shattered doors; perhaps, you should tell someone to check on the windows integrity in that room. But that can wait, unlike the identity of your 'target'.

You withheld your breath and approached the closed door to the attic, peeking through the keyhole. There, in the dim light of a portative lantern, you saw Claudius, sitting nearby the unpacked portrait in complete, contemplative silence. However, you barely recognized him; not because of the insufficient illumination, but because it wasn't the hypnotizingly optimistic face of the Claudius you knew, but the face of a tired, wistful man standing on the verge of his dusk years.

The novelty of the situation stunned you mentally for a moment, and the predictable question "why?" surfaced from all other thoughts. Recalling about your experience of reading other's soul sparks, you made a quick decision that it might be a proper situation to put that ability to use, and so, after inhaling deeply, if as quietly as possible, you concentrated on the spark behind the doors, taking the risk and putting all of the ambient sounds into the void between your concentration and the reality.

After a moment of struggle caused by the hardship of 'interpreting' the target of your study, the uncanny spirit sense of yours arranged the 'feedback signal' into a series of observations about the soul behind the doors. Old and vast due to all the time and experiences, intricate and with multiple dents, it was the soul of someone who reimagined himself longs ago, of someone who changed as a person due to the reasons unreachable by your perceptions. You sensed a lot of minor details and marks, left by a plethora of life challenges and questions without answers. Almost at the core of it, there was a centerpiece 'rod', holding the structure together. A personal code, conviction, or a promise? You can't tell. But what yielded to your inspection was a sign of blemish: the stain corroding this structure, the stain that seemed relatively fresh and made of regrets, shame, and anguish. You can't say what was causing it, but what you can say for sure is that a part of the reason why Claudius is brimming with optimism on the outside is the desire not to let others see the inner tension that slowly poisons him.

That was as deep as your perceptions let you dig, and even if you theoretically could dig deeper, you weren't feeling like doing so. With a short but sharp sight, your senses returned to reality. After this unknown number of minutes which you spent in a trans-like state, Claudius also began to emerge from his half-meditating vigil. Seeing that, you decided to retreat quickly and quietly, not giving him or anyone else a chance to spot you doing awkward things like stalking people. While going back to your room, you played through this situation and observations from the logical standpoint: is that the portrait of Rosaline's great-grandfather whom Amalia mentioned earlier and who had been Claudius' friend? If so, then what was the connection between these two and why does Claudius keep coming back to have a glimpse at the visage of his friend in silence and contemplation? You needed more context to solve this mystery. And to play it out right

After this tiny investigation, you let the routine flow of the day take its reign, leading you to yet another and as inevitable as a sunset class with Rosaline. Today, however, you spotted some differences in her behavior: she spent more time asking you the material she taught you earlier (such as basic grammar, speech, logic, and humanitarian basics), and she called you by name instead of the plain 'you' more frequently than before. Does she gain confidence in you? Among all things and chores of the learning process, this thought might have flattered you. But after having a distinctively more pleasant time with your mentor than before, your expectations for this day were unabashedly demolished by your host's scientific contrivances.

It all began with her leading you to the lab room, leaving her scaly pet scratching the entrance door from outside, ordering you to undress. If that was not awkward enough, she then circled around you with magnifying lenses and sheets of papers colored in warm, skin-like tones. She lifted your hands and wings, observing every dot and spot and inch of your body, writing down notes on her seemingly never-ending parchments and sketching your wings in different states of openness. This time, however, you mustered some character to ask her what exactly and why is she doing it with you, to which she simply replied: "measuring the response of your body to the concurrent living conditions, silly! What did you think I have in mind, hmm?". In return, you just vocalized a couple of absolutely-not-nervous giggles. Perhaps, you weren't thinking anything, or perhaps it was too embarrassing to spill out; no one would ever know that except yourself. But regardless, your scholar-hostess continued with measuring your body with a tape ruler, eventually mysteriously humming after estimating the circumference of your hips. Suddenly, the gloomy shadow of dietary ratios hung above you.

The salvation came after she let you dress up and went on a lengthy inquiry spree, asking all sorts of questions concerning the state of your memory, health, emotional condition, recent experiences, and dreams. After hearing you out on those dreams, she provided you with the assumption that those visions - if not just a product of your mind - may be connected to your arcane nature. She said that Westlanders believe in the ability of the saints (how they call thaumaturgists) to foresee possible future events through dreams, but there was almost no scientific proof to that. Maybe it did calm you, or maybe not, but after she released you, you spent the entire evening over a book about Daevas, resisting the urge to sleep until the dreamless nap avalanched onto you.

________________________

Despite your worries about having more ominously-grotesque dreams or being put through more of Rosaline's experiments, the next day brought neither: after burdening you with a series of 'social situations' questions and some material, she left you be. Maybe she was understanding that you find her exertions come out if not unpleasant then definitely odd, or perhaps she was plain too busy to gravitate around you for a half of a day. Regardless, with the end of your uncharacteristically short classes, you were on your own, venturing forth for more places to see and people to meet. Well, in the boundaries of the mansion, that is.

Your first encounter (of sorts) took place bare minutes after you left the lecturing room where Rosaline usually stuff you with knowledge, possibly hoping you'd start burping with it. Your path took you to the central segment of the second floor - the decorated hall with the stairways ascending to the second and then to the third floor. But it wasn't the curiosities on the walls that suddenly stole your attention - there was an unfamiliar man and Ulren entering the building and proceeding to one of the first floor's wings over what sounded and looked like a very casual chatter. Do they know each other? Does Ulren have more friends you haven't yet met? Curious, you decided to hide behind the spot where the ornate wooden staircase railing meets the wall, observing the 'intruder' from a distance.

From what you saw, he appeared to be a dirty blond adult Lander male (maybe a Lyflander?), clad in a chainmail, a tabard, and a customized light plating. If anything, his garb and gear looked closer to the one you saw Ulren using than to the shiny and uniformal analogs used by the city and even this mansion guards. On his back was a shield with no heraldic symbols, and a sheathed medium-sized sword was hanging on his belt. By the direction of their movement, you'd say that both men were heading to the gymnasium, with Ulren leading the way and disappearing from the edge of your sight. The unknown man, however, slowed down a little before following, clearly noticing you.

The same old story on a new motif: the man's facial expression smoothly morphed from a smiley-welcoming if a bit goofy to still smiley but confused to ~~slightly~~ jaw-dropped. You didn't have to see the end reaction of him seeing you for the first time due to Ulren's hand clutching his coif's collar and pulling him out of his shock and away from your sight. You sighed: even though it was becoming commonplace, seeing others first reactions to you still wasn't all that flattering. With a tad bit grumpy look on your face, you glimpsed over oneself, finding no glaring issues like dirties clothes or unkempt hair. And if anything, the white wings of yours look pretty, not threatening. If to be more honest and less humble, you'd say that you are a cutie, deserving admiration instead of fearful responses of varying severity.

But nevermind that - you were going to explore a bit. Despite having seen most of the second floor during that initial all-around tour that Amalia granted you with, there was still a whole lot to explore. For instance, after visiting the library on your own volition, you've got an impression that despite being a massive, two-storied hall, it looks more spacious from outside the building and from the inside, which may mean that there are adjusted rooms or maybe even some secret passageways. With that in mind, you slowly sank into the adventurous mood, trying to find some secrets within the library.

You searched it up and down, on both levels, seeking for some levers, buttons, suspicious doors, and even behind some of the bookshelves. Unfortunately, ornaments and furniture are often nothing more than what they seem to be, and your prowl among the bookcases and reading tables yielded you no interesting findings. The only thing that seemed off was the fact that the whole hall was symmetrical and highly organized, with only one spare set of a chair and a reading table resting in the remote corner and obscured by a standing bookcase. Having no better ideas, you decided to inspect it more thoroughly.

A couple of spare candles, an enclosed lantern, a few clean paper scraps filled with random notes, a quill and an almost empty inkpot, and a single book

- that was all you found in and on the table. As it wasn't looking like the library seem to hold any secrets, you were about to put the book back into the side locker of the table, but your curiosity took the upper hand. The book you were holding in your hands was titled "The modern view on phylogenetics of sapients" and was written by professor Rohan Gebrant, of the Lyf Academia. Phylo-what? You thought before opening this intimidatingly-titled book and having a slip of paper falling from it on the floor. You picked the paper piece up and found a cryptic message written on it, reading: "Dawnstar 23, after the evening shift, near the smithy. Yuliana's turn to bring snacks".

Now, this was getting more interesting. Dawnstar 23? That's in three days from now unless the message was referring to something that already happened in previous years. The smithy hut? You know where it is. As for the name... you can't say you know anyone bearing the name Yuliana. Well, it's not like you know a lot of people by names - roughly ten of them and one winged lizard. But snacks? That sounds strange in light of how hidden this message was. Is there some sort of a secret convention pending to happen? You put back the message into the book, to which you lost any interest as soon as your eyes glided through the contents of the snippet, and place it back from where you took it. If they about to have snacks, then they are about to have fun, and if so, you must be there... unless you forget to inspect it.

More satisfied with the results so far, you moved to the opposite wing of the second floor, going straight to the end of it. Most of the halls on the second floor were function-purposed and all aimed either on studying or experimenting. Some of the rooms seem to be habitable, but you didn't inspect them that closely. In any case, soon enough you were standing near the heavy doors by the very edge of the floor's wing. Well, closed heavy doors. After a quick sideway glimpse that informed you of no nearby onlookers, you peeked through a keyhole, just in the same manner you did with the door leading to the attic. What you manage to see on the other side was an entire living room with furniture covered with cloth. Judging by the size of it and the silhouettes of the commodities, it seemed to be a master bedroom; a deserted master bedroom, if to be precise. The heavy air coming from it and the ununderstanding of how such prime piece of the building was not put in active use were the only two impressions you managed to harvest. Rosaline or Amalia might know more, but for now, you better move, before someone catches you poking ones curious nose in places.

The last place of interest that you haven't seen already was the group of the rooms adjunct to the lab with that creepy saber-toothed skeleton thing hanging as an exhibit. You can't say this was your favorite room, but exploration is exploration, and besides, your soul senses perceived two presences in one of the rooms you wanted to inspect. What was odd, your ears captured the voice only of one of them as you approached:

"So... did you prepare anything for Nat?" One voice spoke but no audible answer followed.

"Why? She does, after all, help you with all the inventory and cleans up the infirmary while you run Claudius's tasks" The same voice specified, with nothing to answer to him.

"Man! You can't hide like that forever." Nothing followed this comment again and then the speaker continued, "Thinking of it, if only she was of a more prestigious pedigree, I might have used the opportunity like the one you have now to... ya know..." The only answer to that was a loud sigh with vibes of annoyance.

After approaching the door from behind which this whole 'half-dialog' was emerging, you carefully opened it, training your eyes on a couple of lads sanitizing bottles of different shapes. You can confirm that you saw and heard about one of them before - Isaac, Claudius's protege. As for another one, you can only recall a random glimpse of him that you barely memorized.

Well, no use hiding from them. With slow gait, you entered the inventory chamber where two men were tending their business with their backs to you. It seemed like they were so consumed with their routine that the rustle of your feathers remained unnoticed by anyone.

"'Scuse me?" you introduced your presence, to which both of them didn't initially reply or even look at. Yet, after about three seconds, the blonde lad threw a glance at you, which resulted in him startling, rearing back, bumping against the table at which he was working, and starting muttering.

"Y-you! What do you do here? Why do you sneak on us? D-don't tell me you're hungry or anything *nervous giggle*..."

Isaac also turned around to see the reason behind the commotion. And even though your presence was a surprise for him as well, he seemed more startled by his buddy's reaction, to whom he gave that unique "are you stupid?" look with which a fat owl granted you in the woods long ago upon your first awakening. You might have considered it funny if only it was less annoying.

"Why, for all that is good, you afraid of me?" you asked, crossing one's arms on chest and pouting after, "And why you ask if I'm hungry? You carry something tasty?"

The nervous lad emitted the fastest and the most nervous series of giggles you ever heard. "E-e-h. Um.. I-m n-not. I have nothing tasty. And I am not tasty myself. *another series of nervous giggles* But Isaac may be, heh". By the look on his face, Isaac was growing annoyed by this farce.

What in heaven's name does he blather about? "What... are you muttering? And why you afraid of me? You want to say I'm that horrific, don't you?" with all your looks you led him into the trap laid by the merciless feminine logic. Isaac remained silent and just raised one's brow in response to this overly awkward spectacle.

The lad whose name you did not know seemingly phased out for a second. "Err n-no," judging by his voice, he wasn't sure what he was saying, "I-it just that you... your... err... Not quite like the rest. A-and that means you can think not like the rest, and act not like the rest. I heard you're a s-spirifier. You w-wont do anything to us, no?"

You shook your head and shrugged with your wings for the sake of expression. "Why would I announce my presence if I want do something to you?". In response, the nervous lad just muttered how it does make sense before grumbling something under one's nose indistinguishably. Isaac just shook his head.

"Anyway, who are you? And what do you do here?"

"Us? Erm. I'm Jorie, and that guy over there is Isaac. As for what we do, if you want to know what we do here in particular, the answer will be prepping the inventory and ingredients before the next chemistry shift. If you want to know what we do in general, then I'm Holt's apprentice in the minor arcana field if that's how one can fancily call a miserable lab assistant like myself, while Isaac is Claudius's protege. You have met Claudius, haven't you?"

After Jory introduced both of them, Isaac misplaced his gaze to the floor and attempted to pull on a shyly-welcoming face. Was he so shy that he didn't even answer you?

"Say, you do have the command over the vitals and the body aspect? And you helped Claudius to treat me?" You inquired the shy lad, to which he momentarily lift his eyes up to your face for a single moment before diverting them again, and slowly nodded for a single time as if what you said was technically correct but a little bit overblown.

"You see... he can understand you, but he can't talk back," Jory clang in, "It's not something within his control, so no offense, right?"

Hearing that, you just slowly blinked with a slight nod directed to Isaac; you've been in the similar situation before, fully understanding how constraining it may be. Isaac confirmed your courtesy with an innocent shrug and a faint, wry smile - the signal suggesting that this is not the topic he sincerely enjoys.

"But what are you doing here? Aren't you supervised all days long by ma'am Dalgaard?" Feeling more secure, Jory decided to go on a counter-offense.

"Not today: she said she's going to attend some matters, so... I decided to see more of this manor and its residents. This place has many things and people".

"Hate to break it to ya, but you'd see there isn't much of interest going on around, and this particular place is probably the most boring of em all. Unless you are into glassware, chemistry, pungent stenches, and misery of those who have to waste the best years of one's lives working as fetch boys for someone who's not even that senior"

"Why so negative? It is safe and quiet here, after all..."

Jory just shook his head, realizing that your brain was just wired too differently to understand his complaints. "Nevermind that. In fact, forget what I said. Go and do whatever you want for as long as you don't break anything because if you do break something, it would be me who'd get a whippin'. Now, if you excuse us, we got some work to finish"

With that, after a parting nod, you left the lads to tend their chores. As you moved to the last adjusted lab room, you replayed the whole conversation in your mind, unable to decide whether this Jory guy is flippantly strange or strangely flippant. As for Isaac, he seemed to be perfectly adequate even despite the muteness, the reason behind which now settled in your mind, annoyingly demanding for an answer.

What you found behind the last side door in the labs made you snip out from the musings about the guys you just met. There, near the window, stood a tall and massive brass contraption of cylindrical shape, composed of varying tubes, lenses, and mirrors reflecting the sunlight from behind the window. This monster of a machine seemed to operate on sunlight and was to be manipulated via a couple of levers, one small valve, an insert box with a shutter door like the ones seen on some of the furnaces, and an outwardly stretching tube with the glasses-like sockets by its end.

"What this be by the window?" You shouted out to the guys in the neighboring room.

"Eh?! That's a spectrometer - the apparatus Dalgaard, Holt, and me use to determine the arcane properties of varying materials via examining their reflections on the light spectrum. You better don't touch it cause it probably costs like a quarter of this entire manor!"

You weren't thinking to touch it though, but the notion made you think about the way you yourself perceive the aspects. Can your aspect senses be sharpened enough to see the aspect powers contained in raw materials? Can that be used for crafting purposes? Can Rosaline or Erika teach you of this 'minor arcane' branches like alchemy or enchanting of which you read about in a book earlier? It does seem like a possible opportunity now.

There wasn't much left for you to explore on the second floor, so you spent the rest of the day luxuriating and observing the denizens over their routines. There was the air of anticipation in the air, some of the residents and workers engaged in card games after their shifts; one group in particular banded up in the salon and performed a number of songs for those present to enjoy. After the sunset, one bearded man entered the salon hall with two sacks: one full of snow and the other one with grain. What he did after was 'sowing' the contents of those sacks over the carpets, reading up celebrational verses in the process. It looked weird from your point of view, but judging by the faces of others, it was just an absolutely expectable seasonal tradition. These Lyflanders do have some odd ceremonies...

________________________

Yesterday night, you were going to sleep after witnessing something you could only call as a 'wave of holiday anticipation', but great was your surprise when you registered that this wave of celebrational mood only grew overnight. From the early morning, those dwellers assigned to their jobs did not attend them, choosing to enjoy some leisure time with no fear of repercussions. You found Rosaline herself helping cooks around the kitchen, where she informed you that there will be no lessons today and that you should probably hang out with others or help prepare and serve the food before the start of the main celebration, which was about to take place with the sunset. And so you did, shortening time via helping Amalia to prepare and decorate tables in the salon hall while watching others engaging in games, conversations, and music or singing performances.

And boy the merriment only grew closer to the sunset. Almost all denizens, including Ulren (who previously discarded this holiday) and the newcomer whom he led in, gathered in the salon, and after Rosaline's short congratulatory and well-wishing speech, the dishes were served. There were a lot of sweets, meats, drinks, and various bakery. You crunched those brewed cakes and sweet rolls with zeal, knowing that you won't have another chance to uncontrollably stuff yourself with sugar in the year to come, and after you and everyone else was filled, the previously wholesome crowd broke into smaller intermingling groups, engaging in conversations, jokes, and other forms of tomfoolery.

You felt like it was the perfect time to enact your gift-giving plan, and so you rushed upstairs to grab all the items you prepared earlier (except the gifting check, which Rosaline promised to deliver to Sephorah), nearly misstepping and rolling down the stairs due to the weight of all the items. When you re-emerged in the salon doors, your ridiculously broad smile and the hands full of goods drew everyone's attention, you were unsure if you were acting according to the tradition of but now there was no way back!

The first target of your affections was Ulren, who sat closer to the edge of the crowd, casually chatting with Claudius. When he saw you carrying a relatively big and certainly heavy case of artificiery tools in his direction, you saw an expression of genuine surprise on his face; something that changed to sincere (if a bit subdued) smile after you gleamed him over with your warm grin and a plea to fix more tools than break people. For a moment, you saw his hand twitching in preparations to give you that characteristic head pat, but, alas, he reconsidered doing so after noticing how many people were watching both of you. Why would someone be so afraid of own emotions and others reactions to them?

The next target of yours was, of course, Rosaline. After you presented her with the iron quill (persistently called as 'pen' by Ulren during the process of its making), you were a little bit abashed by her reaction: she tried to restrain oneself at first, but then she broke into a smile, excitedly watching by the sides and showing off the intricate and handy piece of craft made by Ulren and, somewhat, you. But that's not all! After reflexing her now-unsubdued excitement, she gave you a careful hug! Wow... You did feel like she was suspecting that you might prepare something for her as well, but the fact that you did confirm her suspicions simply cracked her shell for a short time. But this time was enough for you to glimpse who is she behind her cold and restrained facade.

The next victim was Claudius, so both Amalia and you presented him with the plush version of himself. Whether or not he would like it was something that you worried about the most, finding Amalia's idea a bit too unconventional, and the change of his physiognomy from that smiley facade to concentrated, if not slightly reflective, only reinforced your worries. After about seven seconds of fiddling with the doll in his arms, he stood up and... squeezed both of you under each of one's massive hands, grunting merrily and giving you a couple of spins. Despite your worries, Amalia's plan worked! You could even hear her emitting a laugh-ish crackle (due to the constrained breathing under the grasp of the uncharacteristically strong old man) and tried to emit a relieved sigh yourself (with the same result due to the same circumstances). He put you both on your feet before you lost consciousness, so everything went well in the end. Many of those present - not only women but also some men - went 'awww'.

And then, there was only Amalia left. You handed her the trio of books, which she received and instantaneously brushed through their titles. In response, she grinned playfully and gave you a courtesy gesture. You can see in her eyes that she was both surprised and content, but she sees you more like a playmate than a protege, which, in light of your interactions with her, made sense and looked like an invitation.

And with that, your plan was successfully enacted, letting the stream of celebration return to the pace it had before you reappeared with a handful of gifts. A little bit later, when you returned to destroying sweets, Amalia explained to you that locals exchange gifts in private, marking what you did wrong. But, seeing how Rosaline could not settle down showing everyone the writing device and how other maids besieged Claudius asking to touch that doll of himself, you did nothing wrong. You could feel it in the air: not only everyone present began to think of you as a person instead of a human-shaped beast with wings, but the mutual gratitude and acceptance between those who helped you to prepare all these presents were spreading under the visual clutter; you could feel that with your guts.

But it would be wrong to say that your little premiere was the only thing for attendees to remember. Sometime after, Jory - the neurasthenic lad you met yesterday - crawled up on a table, placed a chair, put a circlet made of sausage on one's head, and declared himself the 'king of mischief', ordering the maids to line up in a round dance around him, to which the said platoon of young maids bombarded him with a barrage of slippers, shooting him down and chiseling out laughter from the observing crowd. Then, the Ulren's newcomer friend commented that Jory's 'reign' won't be recognized until he chose himself a 'queen of the hayloft', for which he received the second slippers barrage from the now-barefooted platoon of maids. Ulren picked wildly wriggling and giggling Rosaline on his shoulder, playfully denouncing Claudius about why is she as little as she was six years ago, to which he responded that she must've grabbed some bad examples from the decadent romantic novels, filled with sickly ethereal damsels and skimpy nightdresses, that she presumably reads when no one is around. Then, the thin cook whose name happened to be Gustof, and the pudgy gardener Andrew - the person you haven't met before - organized a gambling tournament, and after it was done, the pudgy gardener hit the accordion instrument, declaring the dancing time, during which Amalia attempted to clutch shy Isaac out for a dance. Everything was well, and all matter things were well. It felt great.

________________________

Unlike your yesterday pastime, your awakening was not so great: you woke up later than usual, clothed, and mightily confused. Replaying the last events stored in your memories revealed that after trying to dance with others, you hit the cushions to catch a breath and rest a little, which, most likely, resulted in you falling asleep. It was a pity that you didn't see the end of celebrations, but it was still a superb experience. You sat on your bed, thinking of how exactly you ended up in your room, and remembering that you have a designated 'carrier' of your own, who probably carried you back here after seeing you fast asleep. Now thinking of it, it was probably cute to observe from aside.

As your senses lazily returned to you after the post-party sleep, you brushed the room with your gaze, noticing something strange: there were new objects.
...
...
...
Wait, what?

The realization that there were new items waiting for your attention instantaneously wiped out the post-dormant dizzyness. As you approached the bureau, the first thing that stole your focus was:

(pick one)

[] A longsword

A medium-sized, straight sword with the gradually narrowing blade, the slightly elongated handle, and intricately-made crossguard that would allow alternative grips. You could see per inscription on each side of the blade closer to the forte: one reading as "Holly" and the other one being written on a language unknown to you. Despite its masterful quality, the sword is not sharpened and with a safety bulb attached to its tip.

[] A quad-limbed light crossbow

Made of fine wood, light, and strong, interchangeable metallic parts. You could say that the grip is a little too large for you, but someone tried to make it as ergonomic as possible. Alas, you found no bolt projectiles around, preventing you from shooting targets right away. Bummer.

Seems like your 'big shy bro' was thoughtful and persistent at the same time to craft this weapon specifically for you so he can walk you through the basics of self-defense. It felt flattering to know that he's concerned about your safety and disheartening to figure out that this gesture might mean there is no place in this world where you would not need a weapon. But you digressed in your thoughts! Below the weapon was something else - something more appropriate to your current condition. It was a:

(pick another one)

[] A majestic ivory dress.

Intricate, soft the touch, pristine. With a pair of detailed gloves, stockings, fitting shoes, a set of undergarments, and absolutely majestic cape to cover your wings from cold or curious eyes. In the back of your mind, you suppose that something like this might inspire dangerous kind of envy from others, it would be painful to maintain it in the pristine condition, and using it in less civilized environments would be both utter foolishness and total hell to do. B-but... the looks of it. It's just... just... squeeee.

[] A dignified travel dress set

Sturdy, with high leather boots and long gloves, with a wide half-corset belt, ivory blouse, majestic cape, and warm trousers. You could probably feel yourself buffed in it as it might be the thickest and the most reliable set of clothes you laid your hands on so far. A little bit restrictive with movements, perhaps, but it makes you look both stylish and prepared for whatever comes your way. Nice balance.

[] Garment set with a robe

Maybe you found it's dark-green color strange, but it is absolutely comfortable, light, and at the same time concealing enough. Both your mind and your body would be at ease in something like that, the hooded cloak would keep you from rain, others eyes, and cold, and the high number of pockets will ensure that you will have fewer troubles holding your possessions. Or maybe not only your possessions.

Considering the quality and the estimated price of this cloth set, it might be Rosaline's gift to you. That set you to wonder: was that first round of measurements about two weeks ago conducted not only to quench Rosaline's scientific thirst? Maybe you should thank her for this very generous gift and ask this question later.

But even that wasn't all! at the bottom, under the neatly folded set of the garment, you found a blue ribbon made of very soft material and accompanied by a hair-slide. You were almost sure that's Amalia's 'emergency present' which she might decided on as a return favor for the books that you gave her yesterday. Besides, ain't no one else showed as much interest to your hair as she. So, now you have an excuse to hang out with her and to ask to teach of how to make those fancy braids and buns.

Maybe you felt happy, or maybe you now felt like a recognized and cherished person. However, that didn't change the fact the new day was behind the windows, and you might need to think of another plan of actions for the week to come.

_____________________________

You can use for this plan either one major action and three minor actions or five minor actions. Alternatively, you can vote for one of the pre-customized plans instead of making your own, or to modify the presets with some actionds you consider more importaint.

[] (Your custom_name plan)

[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
-[] Defense
-[] Ranged combat
-[] Armorsmithing
-[] Weaponsmithing
-[] Artificiery
-[] Pharma and treatment
-[] Daily craft
-[] Tailoring
-[] Alchemy
-[] Haggle
-[] Persuasion
-[] Geography lore
-[] Nature lore
-[] Arcane lore
-[] Social and cultural lore
(+1 to a respective skill. Find more people or establish deeper bonds to open more paths of studying)

[] Intensive training of attributes
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
(each round raises an attribute by 1/2 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/3 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/4 if the base attribute is X => 18. Note that the attributes influence the attribute skill bonus and quite often are the subjects of checks)

[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
-[] Study soul aspect

For thaumaturgy: current level 5, hard wisdom attribute (17), hard intelligence attribute (17), normal arcane skill (20) each yields 1/5 of the next level + 1/5 default for investment. For soul aspect: current level 2, normal wisdom attribute (15), normal intelligence attribute (15), easy arcane skill (17) each yields 1/2 of the next level + 1/2 default for investment

[] Write-in
In case you want to do something very specific

[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
(each round raises an attribute by 1/4 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/5 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/6 if the base attribute is X => 18. Note that the attributes influence the attribute skill bonus and quite often are the subjects of checks. You can't pick more than two rounds of the same routine in a half a week)

[] Train your wings
(+1 to wings proficiency, repeatable but try not to overdo it. Also, keep in mind the cost of alternatives, i.e. what you could've done instead)

[] Inspect the place and its inhabitants
-[] The first floor
(one-time-off for each part. Widens the future options and the number of people you know. Can choose multiple in one voting)

[] Socialize with
-[] Rosaline
-[] Ulren
-[] The newcomer sentinel
-[] Amalia
-[] Claudius
-[] Isaac
-[] Erika
-[] Jory
-[] Karl
-[] Mathias
-[] Andrew
(mention the general attitude, the topics of interest, the discussion, or/and special actions like attempts to study a soul spark in the vote. Construct a special approach and try not to be annoying)

[] Do something / spend your leisure time at the facility (specify the action in the vote)
-[] Bathroom
-[] Kitchen
-[] Salon
-[] Library
-[] Gymnasium
-[] Laboratory
-[] Lecture hall
-[] Greenery
-[] Smithy
-[] Attic
-[] Studio
-[] Your room
-[] The locked observatory
--[] Ask Amalia to get you there (hard persuasion skill check (24))
--[] Ask Rosaline about that place and for permission to visit it (very hard persuasion skill check (28))
-[] The shuttered bedroom
--[] Ask Amalia to get you there (very hard persuasion skill check (28))
--[] Ask Rosaline about that place and for permission to visit it (epic persuasion skill check (32))
Obviously, specify if necessary.

[] Wait for the gathering near the smithy
TIME-LIMITED OPPORTUNITY!

[] Write-in
In case you want to do something very specific

[] Preset plan: strong girl!
[] A longsword
[] A dignified travel dress set
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
[] Train your wings
[] Train your wings

[] Preset plan: magic girl!
[] A longsword
[] Garment set with a robe
[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Socialize with
-[] Rosaline
--[] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic

[] Preset plan: sweet girl!
[] A quad-limbed light crossbow
[] A majestic ivory dress.
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Persuasion
[] Socialize with
-[] The newcomer sentinel
--[] Strike an acquaintance and try to learn about this person
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Wait for the gathering near the smithy

(Additionally, you can update your codex reveals preferences form the codex index post)

Gosh, this one was hard

Mother Nyx · Jul 22, 2018

[] Preset plan: magic girl!
[] A longsword
[] Garment set with a robe
[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Socialize with
-[] Rosaline
--[] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic

[] Preset plan: strong girl!
[] A longsword
[] A dignified travel dress set
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
[] Train your wings
[] Train your wings

You know, I'm all for this, lmao. Thanks for the inclusion of preset plans! It's killing me thougggh. I want to be balanced but it might be better to specilize. And, we *are* the only mage on the team so to speak... Magic girl it is.

[X] Preset plan: magic girl!
[X] A longsword
[X] Garment set with a robe
[X] Practice or study your aspects!
-[X] Practice thaumaturgy
[X] Routine attribute training
-[X] WIS
[X] Routine attribute training
-[X] WIS
[X] Socialize with
-[X] Rosaline
--[X] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic

So, is Jorie and outlier or does the rest of the manor think we'll eat them? Because, wow.

HatsuZ · Jul 23, 2018

[X] Preset plan: magic girl!
[X] A longsword
[X] Garment set with a robe
[X] Practice or study your aspects!
-[X] Practice thaumaturgy
[X] Routine attribute training
-[X] WIS
[X] Routine attribute training
-[X] WIS
[X] Socialize with
-[X] Rosaline
--[X] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic

Do the wings really make that much of a difference in how people view us? Or is it just the fact that no one has seen a person with wings before.

Also, I loved the gifts and how Ms. Angel uses the wrong word sometimes. 'basement' of a sword. lol

Mother Nyx · Jul 23, 2018

HatsuZ said:
Do the wings really make that much of a difference in how people view us? Or is it just the fact that no one has seen a person with wings before.

We're different. A new different, even with the other races around. It's the old adage, people fear what they don't understand. It might be because we haven't really interacted with the manor at large, it'd be just like Teloch to demerit us that way, that old scamp. Word of mouth about our obviously odd mannerisms turns into us eating people, it seems.

Spear · Jul 23, 2018

[X] Preset plan: magic girl!

HatsuZ · Jul 23, 2018

Lazy Minx said:
We're different. A new different, even with the other races around. It's the old adage, people fear what they don't understand. It might be because we haven't really interacted with the manor at large, it'd be just like Teloch to demerit us that way, that old scamp. Word of mouth about our obviously odd mannerisms turns into us eating people, it seems.

Now I'm thinking of of our angel as one of the X-Men...

But yeah, those wings are SCARY, man! So white, so fluffy... once you get hugged by those you're never getting out! An angels' wings are an evolutionary trait that makes it easier to grapple and devour prey. By time you notice you're being eaten it'll be too late!

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

Lazy Minx said:
So, is Jorie and outlier or does the rest of the manor think we'll eat them? Because, wow.

Nah. It has more to do with Jory being a coward than ain't no one ever seing winged people in their lifetimes.

HatsuZ said:
Do the wings really make that much of a difference in how people view us? Or is it just the fact that no one has seen a person with wings before.

Well, that plus the fact that in this realm, the previously unseen entities or phenomena often turn out to be dangerous. So, ignorance + self-preservation... and some people being cowards.

HatsuZ said:
'basement' of a sword

'Fraid not everyone would understand what 'forte' means.

veekie · Jul 23, 2018

[X] Preset plan: sweet girl!

[X] Beasts overview
[X] Dragons overview
[X] Elasmores

Nobody wants the smithy event poke?
Its a one off

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

veekie said:
Its a one off

You can try to squeeze that poking action into the preset plan instead of something else and see whether people would buy it

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

Also, ship-o-meters updated. There were some sharp changes in that department.
PS: kinda surprised how everyone ignores invisitext

PPS: you might wanna be very careful about picking the right suit. You won't have a chance like that for a while and what you'll pick might propel or impair you later, depending on situations to come.

Sirapthy · Jul 23, 2018

[X] Plan curious magical girl
[X] A longsword
[X] Garment set with a robe
[X] Practice or study your aspects!
-[X] Practice thaumaturgy
[X] Routine attribute training
-[X] WIS
[X] Wait for the gathering near the smithy
[X] Socialize with
-[X] Rosaline
--[X] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic

angelofwhim · Jul 23, 2018

[x] veekie

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

Added a poll to the head post. Kinda curious about your opinions

Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Who is the bae? (Yes, we know that it's Lucy, but still - who's your favorite character)

Ulren, because he's a big bro I never had

Sephorah, because of the floor-chair-face dance

Karl, because smug

Amalia, because a cinnamon roll determinator

Isaac, because kuudere

Jory, becuase...

Rosaline, because I miss her

Mia (the ghost cat), because smug^2

Dunno - I need more party members

Dunno - I want more character interactions

Dunno - Where are the shipping battles, QM?

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Mother of Elpis

Phantom Thief

Mother of Elpis

Sun-In-Rags

Phantom Thief

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