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

Mother Nyx · Jul 23, 2018

I want this quest to have more followers. It deserves it.

HatsuZ · Jul 23, 2018

Teloch said:
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.

I didn't realize you did invisitext. Or if I did, I forgot. XD

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

HatsuZ said:
I didn't realize you did invisitext. Or if I did, I forgot. XD

I'm a playful beast that litters with easter eggs

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

Excerpt from "The introduction to arcane aspects" by Leofric Vaughan of the Lyf Academy, arcane arts department.

The questions whether or not links to arcane aspects are something people are born to or something they achieve during their lifetime is one of the most popular topics for debate in the magi circles. But for the sake of answering to the question of how do aspects seem to be distributed based on the data procured by the Lyf academia over the years, we are going to assume that the affiliation upon birth/conception theory stands true, as well as the "hidden pool of possibilities" theory, which states that each individual is born to a number of possible aspect links, which they may uncover and activate during their lifetimes in a random sequence or not at all. A side note: even though the statistics are in favor of these assumptions, they still don't suffice as a solid proof to the mentioned theories.

If we assume that individuals of the different races are all born to one or more aspects which they may or may not discover in their lifetimes, than the records, mentions, and census of the magi affiliations across the races will show a distinct pattern, which, if extrapolated, may be used as an argument for the theory of the growing tree of aspects, which views the main arcane archetype tree not as a static system, but as a growing organism, which adds new layers over time, which push the older components to the periphery.

In any case, the study revealed that the older races such as all Roths are predominately bound to the aspects from the elemental circle with only rare individuals having bounds to the life belt aspects. These proportion patterns are called Roth's arcane triads, and at the moment we know about four of them:
Conflagration - statics - mind for Bhiroths
Dynamics - conflagration - body for Gvuroths
Statics - morphosis - emotion for Choroths
Morphosis - dynamics - spirit for Hodaroths (even though the Pheotorian Roths don't recognize this branch as one of their species due to political reasons, we have no arguments against accounting them as well)
As you can see, the pattern is persistent and differs only in positioning on the aspect sphere.
Even though we don't have the necessary data to make precise estimations of all the aspect-wielding distributions, based on what do we know about Bhiroth, we can assume that on average one out of five Roths would discover their aspect link during their lifetime.

Alvizian subspecies are also subjected to a distribution pattern of their own, however, it has no drastic subspecies division seen among Roth. Regardless of their habitat, on average, two out of seven Alviz individuals would discover one or more arcane links during their lifespan, which is the highest coefficient among the Pheotorian sentient races. The aspect distribution pattern, however, shows that about 47 percent of alvizian mages have the primary affiliation to one of the elemental aspects, 18 percent are primarily affiliated to the invocation belt, and 35 percent have one of the life belt aspects as their arcane domain. The domination of the elementally-based aspect among alvizian magic users is clearly visible, thus proving the theory of the growing tree of aspects via having more representatives of the elder races being born affiliated to more ancient types of magic.

According to the results of this study, regardless of their habitat and nationalities, humans appear to possess the aspects distribution pattern that acts as a foil to those of Alviz. Based on the control group research, it was concluded that only six and a half percent of humans would ever become aspect wielders of any type. After grueling research, the approximate distribution was found: 12 percent of human mages primes in one of the entropy layer aspects, 33 percent discover their elemental links first, 8 percent see animism belt as their domain, 45 percent are starting from the life-based magics, and only about two percent of human mages dabble into the thaumaturgy. As you can see, humans as the younger species are naturally prone to the presumably 'younger' types of magic as well.

And so, the extrapolation of the logic behind the growing aspect tree theory leaves a lot of new questions. For example: does the so-called primordial "integrity" aspect exist in reality or is it only a theoretical concept? What was the arcane distribution pattern of the precursor races and did it contribute to their disappearance? If the controversial theory of Gaian rejuvenation is correct and there ought to be the races that would see us as precursors, what types of magics will they be born to?

Teloch · Jul 23, 2018

A little codex extra is up, so now I'm just waiting for your post update 2.10 votes, my dudes and dudettes.

Come on, don't be shy. Who doesn't love gifts?

PS: codex index was updated

Teloch · Jul 24, 2018

3 for magic girl preset, 2 for sociable girl preset, 1 for the hybrid between these two.

Gonna call a vote in a day, just in case if someone wants to tip the winning vote.

Adhoc vote count started by Teloch on Jul 23, 2018 at 7:13 AM, finished with 14 posts and 6 votes.

2 people have voted
[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] Socialize with
-[X] Rosaline
--[X] Ask her on the implications of the wielding aspects and on the special features of thaumaturgy and soul magic
- Mother Nyx
- HatsuZ
2 people have voted
[X] Preset plan: sweet girl!
[X] Beasts overview
[X] Dragons overview
[X] Elasmores
- veekie
- angelofwhim
1 people have voted
[X] Preset plan: magic girl!
- Spear
1 people have voted
[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
- Sirapthy

wingstrike96 · Jul 24, 2018

[X] Preset plan: sweet girl!

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

Zakanian · Jul 24, 2018

[X] Preset plan: magic girl!

RideTheWalrus · Jul 24, 2018

[X] Preset plan: magic girl!

I'm fine with magic exploration. That was cute with Ulren by the way. Oh there was some weird spacing in this update, distracting. On a phone anyways, not sure of anyone on a computer noticed.

Teloch · Jul 25, 2018

~~Lucy yer a wizard!~~
Preset plan: magic girl! it is then.
Now, rollin time

hard wisdom attribute (17), hard intelligence attribute (17), normal arcane skill (20)

Roll me three d20, unless you want to see me doing some whammy rolls

Zaealix · Jul 25, 2018

I ain't 'fraid of no dice!
EDIT: Hunh, though maybe I should have been.

Zakanian · Jul 25, 2018

D20s, not d17s

Edit: Oh no. Oh dear.

Zaealix · Jul 25, 2018

O.O >_<
I take full responsibility for the crit fail in wisdom, that would not have happened if I hadn't botched my own roll!
EDIT:...I hope you didn't have plans for Lucy being competent QuestMaster!

Teloch · Jul 25, 2018

Oh wew.
That leaves the arcane d20 left
...
There's a little chance this might turn out the most epic dice rolling in this quest with x3 ones

Zaealix said:
that would not have happened if I hadn't botched my own roll!

would not matter either because it still wasn't high enough

Mother Nyx · Jul 25, 2018

Does that second wisdom roll count, lmao?

Edit: Yes I know it does I am just crying in Spanish.

angelofwhim · Jul 25, 2018

Oh lucy...please dont kill anyone...

Teloch · Jul 25, 2018

angelofwhim said:
Oh lucy...please dont kill anyone...

I doubt she'd be able to kill anything for a long while, as it seems

Mother Nyx · Jul 25, 2018

Does that 19 mitigate anything? Cries.

Teloch · Jul 25, 2018

Lazy Minx said:
Does that 19 mitigate anything? Cries.

Without spoiling things - yep. But it still won't be enough to come off as a genius >__>

angelofwhim · Jul 25, 2018

Lazy Minx said:
Does that 19 mitigate anything? Cries.

We have the power but we dont care or know how to use it lol

Teloch · Jul 25, 2018

angelofwhim said:
We have the power but we dont care or know how to use it lol

These rolls mean that she would have a mediocre training session (40% of the effort needed to get to the next level). No breakthroughs, but not a total failure either. I'd say she'll rather rinse what she already knows than learn something entirely new.

Teloch · Jul 30, 2018

Mkay, about time to start writing bit by bit.

'Ere, have a musical goodie in the meanwhile

Teloch · Aug 11, 2018

ETA: somewhen today by UTC. Or at least I hope so

Teloch · Aug 11, 2018

The first thing which you did was not laying out plans for what to do, but inspecting the gifts you received more closely. And, predictably, the very first thing that earned your attention was a neatly-folded stack of clothes. it consisted of a somewhat heavy cape with hood, large enough not only to hide your folded wings but to cocoon almost the entirety of your frame. The second part of this bundle was a thick, one-piece dress that featured a knee-long skirt and abdomen zone lacing; something that would fit for both casual attire and clothes for travels. The third significant piece of this stack was a long yet light robe of a simple but elegant style; with or without the matching cape, it can work as more formal attire. These three pieces were accompanied by a pair of boots made from soft leather, black-ish leggins for cold weather, a thick waist belt, per a couple of purses and bags, and some undergarment. All the greater pieces were of the dark, coniferous-green color. After assessing the clothes and donning the footwear, the cape, and the robe (which, despite being designed with two carefully concealed cuts on the back to fit the peculiarity of your constitution, took you three attempts to dress on), you came to conclusion that despite not being even remotely as fancy and elegant compared to Rosaline's wardrobe, what you've got was designed for maximum comfort and utility.

Satisfied by the experience of having something as cozy on oneself, your attention befell on the gift of more lethal nature - the longsword. You really can't call yourself an arms expert, but even visually the sword looked more like a work of an (unconventional) artist than an artisan who needed to make about ten exemplars in a single day. 'Holly'? Isn't that a bush type? Why is it called after a bush? And what's that engraved on the opposite side of a forte? Seems like your best bet to find out would be to ask its creator - Ulren - when you'd get an opportunity to thank him in person. Logically, your evaluation of the weapon led you up to the taking it up and trying to wield it, filling you with embarrassment shortly after: despite being well-balanced, relatively light, and even equipped with ergonomic grip and guard, it still felt rather heavy and unwieldy. You blushed slightly at the notion that it has more to do with your physical prowess than with the weapon itself. Are you really that weak? This thought was a blend of embarrassment and irritation.

As for the hair slide and a blue ribbon, you made a try to gather and tie up your long, wheat gold hair, but the mirror reflection of the result made you more self-ironic than proud. Thinking of it, was Amalia's choice dictated by the lack of time to prepare a reciprocation gift for you or was it a conscious move to lure you into asking for advice of how to fashion your hair and thus spending more time with you? Or was it both? You can certainly tell that Amalia treats you not only with amazement but also with sympathy, and has that light, cunningly-playfull attitude. Yes, there seem to be something odd about her compared to other maidservants.

But enough with distractions! With some difficulty, you came up with a plan of actions for the days to come. Some part of you nagged to investigate the gathering mentioned in the mysterious note that you uncovered in the library and to hang out with people more, possibly learning about the newcomer. However, the more practical part of yourself demanded that, for once, you pay more focus to your more practical self-development. Looking back at how much time you spent on socializing and learning about others, you decided to expand your knowledge of this realm, yourself, and your arcane capacities.

After some late morning reconnaissance, you learned that after the yesterday celebrations, the majority of the manor inhabitants were in the need of a day off. And thus, your breakfast was not the freshly-cooked meal but the leftovers from yesterday, and your mentor's lazy protest against leaving her chambers was a subtle clue to the fact that it was all up to you how you'd like to spend the day. This freedom-induced enthusiasm, however, didn't last long, as you deduced that most of the dwellers were not in the right mood or even condition to make your company, so the 'today you are on your own' almost turned out to be true literally; almost. The salvation came from where you were not expecting: Karl happened to be unaffected by this pandemic of post-holiday laziness, which you eagerly used to your advantage by grabbing him by the offer he made earlier to supervise your arcane training experiments. Yesterday, you saw him attending the celebration more of sheer politeness than enthusiasm as well as departing early, which explains his relatively high wakefulness. Maybe you were curious about the reason behind his introversion, but it was not the right time to pester him with personal questions - not until he done supervising you.

And quite some supervision he did. Down in the basement training ring, despite your best attempts to follow the instructions, you quickly lost your cool under all of the unfamiliar instructions. What does he mean by thrust? And how can you dissipate the barriers? Speaking plainly, you grew intimidated by all the unfamiliar requests concerning the way you bend aspects into various forms. Your performance sank down along with your confidence, which was something Karl noticed after a while, bailing back with the directives you could not properly understand and giving you the hints of what new exploits you can try to perform with your current level of proficiency. This resulted in you somewhat regaining confidence and eventually figuring out how to make the light orbs explode in blinding flashes and how to simultaneously sustain luminous barriers and move around. You even managed to conjure something akin to a radiant javelin. But to your and Karl's regret, you failed at sustaining it for more than a few seconds and thrusting it at target dummies. Before long, you ran out of stamina and the ability to focus, settling on the thought that this practice round ended up with some progress, even if not any breakthroughs.

"Did I do good?" you inquired Karl while regaining one's breath and recovering from the practice, "Can I use thaumaturgy to fight?"

By his looks, your part-time instructor did not expect such a follow-up question. "Why would such a sweet young lady like yourself want to immediately weaponize her arcane skills?"

"Dangerous world. Things would be better if I could defend oneself a month ago," was your not-so-eager response, "being only sweet does not help much".

"Hard to argue with that, but now you are in incomparably safer circumstances, which isn't something you are willing to change anytime soon, aren't you?". You could only shake your head in denial.

"As I thought," Karl answered with a barely audible sigh, "but back to your question: at this moment, you have some capacities to protect oneself via warding of immediate danger or disorienting adversaries, yet, when it comes to retaliating, you have little to no options, unless you expect to repeatedly flashbang someone until they have a seizure or trip over into environmental hazards. The problem is... how should I put it... you don't seem to know the theoretical basis of aspects shaping and perform exclusively on an instinctive level, which is, speaking frankly, a very unique case."

"Can you tell me about these theoretical basics?" you inquired in earnest desire to improve.

"I'm afraid that your patience and toleration of my voice would run dry even before reach the tenth part of it - such an extensive topic it is to cover in one swoop, but what pertains the most to your today's performance is the system of casting. The first thing you need to know is that spellcasting is composed of three main stages: intake, shaping, and projection. The intake phase - sometimes called channeling - is when you draw the power from your own arcane capacities, from the pure forms of the manipulated aspect, from intermediate objects storing said power, or, on advanced levels, intercept the power packed in the spells of your opponents. You draw the aspect powers to proceed to the second phase - the shaping. This is the phase when you settle on the purpose, the nature, and the target of your incantation. You can shape the previously drawn power inwards or outwards, to reinforce or to destruct, through one or another quasi-elemental way attributed to your aspects such as the pure light or the solidified luminal substance which you can conjure. The last phase of the spellcasting is the projection, or more rarely called the thrust phase. This building block of an incantation process is the final choice of logistics through which you attempt to deliver the shaped energy. Should you decide on launching those luminous javelins, conjure orbiting blades of light like those saints from Westlander's legends, or figure out how to burn adversaries with the condensed rays of light, the final shape of your spell will be determined by the methods of its delivery".

You widened your eyes in amazement: can you possibly do such feats? Karl, however, iterated your facial expression rather as a sign of confusion.

"Imagine an arcane feat as a building that has a foundation, supporting walls or columns, and a roof. Drawing would be the foundation of its stability, walls would be the shaping phase, which would determine its scale and purpose, and the roof would be the projection phase, which would have great influence on how well the construction bodes with the environment. There are, of course, very complex spells that utilize aftereffects, varying combination of the incantation phases, complex sourcing and projection tactics, but each and every arcane feat consists of these three phases. Do you follow me?"

You nodded approvingly and as enthusiastically as your depleted stamina allowed. "But how good am I with these phases and how can I improve?"

"That's what I was about to tell you: your proficiency with drawing aspect power and shaping it seemed to surpass your projecting skills, and not because of your drawing and bending techniques being overall superb, I'm afraid. To proceed forth with your arcane training, you should concentrate on learning the methodology of projecting the arcane powers you have via ingenuity and practice. I dare to say that it would be more about plentiful practice than ingenuity in your case. And since we have touched on the topic of practical training, you should know that there are a lot of schools and philosophies of arcane crafts, from Roth's ways of elementalist martial arts, which they use as an augment to their more than ample prowess in physical combat, to the tens of Alvizian schools of pure spellweaving, and all the lander's methodologies in between these two extremes. Perhaps, in order to straighten your own path into the art of arcane, you might want to pick a certain methodology that suits your goals the most.

"Can... can you tell more about those schools of arcane? Or can you show me or advice something? You seem know so much about various arcane traditions!" Your enthusiasm was unrelenting in the face of fatigue.

"I can give you some guidelines, directions, and the list of possible choices, but you have to decide on the route of your training yourself. Not only it would grant you the token of necessary responsibility, but it also won't make me feel bad for training you into a copy of myself."

Your emotional perception dinged with his last word. Was that a vibe of regret in his last sentence? Instead of asking out the last unrelated question that you had directly, you decided to go the subtle way.

"Thank you sir Norskov!" you grinned warmly, "I appreciate your time teaching me. But would you be fine if I ask one last question for today?". He raised his brow at that, nonverbally signaling you to go on. "Why you left yesterday so early? From the party, I mean".

"And here I was, thinking that my departure was smooth enough not to alert anyone," he ironized, "worry not - it wasn't because of the quality of the event or my opinions on attendees but rather because I had a fair share of celebrations back in my prime days; too many, one would even say. But as for now, please, let me bid you a good evening and let you free for your devices".

Even though the answer raised even more questions, you did not bother the man any longer, opting to return to the upper levels of the manor and to see for a way to shorten the evening. Even though sufficiently tired, the earlier notion of the various arcane traditions common to the different races ignited a spark of interest, which resulted in you using the inspiration to dig into the handbook on the basics of aspects and magic in general. However, you did so not too soon to avoid registering that, by the end of the day, the manor and its dwellers recovered from the lazy spell that dominated the atmosphere earlier today. You also noticed that a few maidservants were excitedly discussing fresh gossips while cleaning the hall where the celebration took place yesterday. Yet, even though you were not in the mood to overhear them, you could not ignore their obvious agitation that also seemed mixed with anxiety.

_________________________

The next day brought not only the relief after a bit too prolonged sleep but also the answer to what troubled the maidservants you observed yesterday. As you figured out, the subject of their discussion became everyone's hot topic of today, sweeping through the manor like an arson and leaving its mark on almost anyone. The topic was someone's death. As everyone's attitude softened to you to some degree and even the most fearful servants began to see you as a person instead of some suspiciously humanoid-shape monster, it was not hard to collect the details, which proved to be plentiful and mightily controversial. What was correlating among all the version, was the mention of a man called Presley - the local city madman who descended into his miserable condition after the tragic passing of his fiance some years ago - fell down to his quite visceral death from the bell tower of Saint Aethlig's cathedral, which is situated on the samely-named plaza, in the very heart of Kirhol. Even more off-putting was the fact that the occurrence took place right at the Solstice night, with the witnesses saying that he was wildly yelling gibberish about 'fallen star' and 'sweeping tide' that ought to 'wipe the North clean and crack Pheotor to its very core'. Further accounts were controversial: some said that the man threw himself to his death while others state that despite being insane, Presley was quite docile, shy, and pious, which meant that someone helped him out of his misery. Regardless, the news was spreading like a disease among those who lived in Kirhol for long enough, adding to their anxieties about the refugee crisis and proximity of an aggressive Olfadir corps to the Lyf border.

Since you did not know the victim before and formerly had to see some share of massive tragedy with your own eyes, the news left a limited impact on you, which you would be glad to say about Rosaline as well if only she wasn't a bit too twitchy and contemplative during your routine lesson. To your surprise, Rosaline did not bury you under information and new tasks, focusing more on rehearsing the material you were supposed to know already and checking how well were you communicating at this stage. She even did the unthinkable: asked you whether or not you would like to cut today's lesson short, which, after some consideration, you declined, using the opportunity to share some time with her, telling about Jorie's first reaction to seeing you and asking why do people react to you as if you were a threat to them. This inquiry of yours instantaneously snapped Rosaline into the 'lecturer mode', with her barraging you with such topics as defensive psychology mechanism while facing unknown, identification and benefits of belonging to distinct groups, types of mass identities, and even drew parallels with how humans of the Pherinian empire that spanned almost across the entirety of western Pheotor reacted to the previously unseen Roth invaders from East in the days of the Great Roth Exodus about eighteen centuries ago. She topped her educational tirade with the oldest human legends from the era of the Tribes' Southern Mass Migration when ancient humans first encountered proto-Alvizian dwellers of Pheotor, which resulted in all sorts of outcomes ranging from extermination raids to symbiotic proto-states. You never expected anyone to stretch the simple "because they have never seen the likes of you and know not of your intentions" answer into almost four hours lecture, but your amazingly knowledgeable mentor managed it.

You still considered the time well spent as you not only cleared out the underlying reason behind others reactions but also got your metaphorical toe dipped into the immense history of Pheotor and its dwellers, beginning to grasp the reason why there is so much mistrust and, at times, violence. You did not want for this bout of interaction with Rosaline to end on a minor note, so you acknowledged her for time and effort spent on educating you, to which she reacted uncharacteristically positive. You've got that feeling, that since the last week her impression of you began to improve, with her acting more open around you. Was it because you demonstrated your intentions during the holidays? That would actually make sense considering what she just lectured you about.

After receiving this called-for lecture, you took some time to hang around, dropping by to thank Amalia for all the help and the gift and to gossip a bit, which resulted in fulfilling only the first part of your intentions since she was busy cleaning the place up. Closer to the evening, Ulren took some time to check up on you, which you used to have a small-time chat. You learned from your 'designated carrier' that the person he was leading in earlier is named Lodric, he happened to be his acquaintance and was invited over by Rosaline to reinforce the guard contingent in their duty of preventing break-ins and other burglary whatnots.

After your minor mingling with housemates, you returned back to your bed to read about aspects and arcane in general. For some reason, the exploration of magic captivated you as much as learning about others facets of the surrounding world. Now thinking about it, you could not help yourself but wonder about that mysterious gathering by the smithy to which you found a clue in the library. Was it a soiree? If so, then who attended? And what were they doing? With a slightly disappointed sigh, you put away the book written by Prof. Vaughan, hoping that your unsatisfied curiosity about the missed even won't much of an obstacle to a good night sleep.

_________________________

It didn't: your night rest was tranquil and refreshing, with no delays or the dreams that would make you wake up in cold sweat to a wild heartbeat. Right after the breakfast, you went for another session with your mentor, with the thoughts and questions about your arcane nature ready to be asked. You had to wait, although, letting Rosaline test your knowledge of the Pherinian and Roth calendars, Late Pherinian language (that is now unofficially considered as the universal Pheotorian language, especially in the human states), and the basics of social situations along with the ways of their resolutions. Satisfied with your level of understanding, she announced that there is no new mandatory material to be learned today, let you decide on what topics you wish to get explained, and promised two announcements by the end of today's session.

Slightly confused by the sudden change in the otherwise familiar flow of the lessons, you decided on letting her continue the yesterday topic of what causes the divisions within seemingly homogenous groups of people. Predictably, she barraged you with references and examples, drawing the parallels between the Pherin Empire post-collapse era and the last three post-war decades, elaborating on the biological and psychological necessity of groups to align interests and thus efforts basing on the identity constructs for the sake of surviving through times of ordeal and uncertainty without losing the said identity. To prove her words, she provided you with a quick rundown of the main human states.

Among them, you learned some basics about the Olfadir Theocracy also knows as Westland - the huge successor state that emerged on the ruins of the Pherin Empire, which seeks to fix the perceived injustice of its collapse by establishing a new theocratical empire within and most likely beyond the borders of the old one. Driven by the urge to restore the 'historical injustice', Olfadir is now pursuing the plan of re-conquering the territories it lost during and after the War of the First Star, as well as indoctrinate and annex some of the weaker Eastern Kingdoms. What you witnessed back in Beilford was one of the steps of Olfadir going for their geopolitical goals.

You also learned that the Lyf Kingdom - de-facto your new homeland - is an old human state that always relied on diplomacy and pursuit of knowledge in its bid for survival in this violent world, which resulted in it becoming even if not the most powerful state, but the place with the arguably highest living standards, ensured by the continuous scientific progress and protected by the military and economic treaty with Nyth-Rhathon - the state also knows as the Bhiroth Meritocracy. Lyf kingdom is known not only by its agile diplomacy but also for the fact it was the very first human state that implemented constitutional monarchy, which caused the more conservative part of the kingdom to secede with little blood around one and a half century ago, forming a separate aristocratic state now known as the Great Rabenia Dukedome. To this day, Lyf and Rabenia retain mostly peaceful yet somewhat tense coexistence with each party trying to influence the other one through trade and politics before negotiating a reunion on their favorable terms.

Rosaline did not forget to mention the large group of states also known as the Eastern Kingdoms or Ostland - the batch of nine very patchy old human kingdoms and five former Olfadir regions who are cramped in the reach between Westland, the Alvizian territories, and Gvuroth Polises. These states vary sharply on the scales of sympathies towards neighbors, economic and military might, political and cultural traditions, and governing types. You wanted her to elaborate each or at least more of these states more thoroughly, but she tactically turned your hope down by pinpointing the overwhelming complexity of the topic, precise explanation of which would take a couple of days. Bummer.

The last large group of human states that she mentioned was the Yrsengard - the vast territory that lies to the North from the White Sea - the place from which the humankind migrated to Pheotor about two to three millennia ago, to this day populated by Yrslanders - the posterity of those ancient humans. That land is known as a set of sharply varying biomes, from fertile, mild-climate Southern shore belt to the tundra wastelands to the North. The inhabitants are as varying: from civilized and decently wealthy Coastal Kingdoms to barbaric clans in more remote regions. The interactions between Yrsengard and Pheotorian states was as volatile, ranging from peaceful trade to coastal raids, depending on the Yrsengardian political landscape and the state of the union.

With such an extensive lecture on the surrounding world, you might have felt the lesson accomplished, but there was something else you wanted to discuss - something more pertaining to your current troubles.

"Umm... Lady Rosaline? Can ask you something else?".

"What is it, Lucifina? Are you that curious or is it your form of exacting revenge on me for the curriculum I put you through?" she smirked.

"Goodness, no! It is just something that bothers me after I began to study arcane. I know that I have links to thaumaturgy and spirit aspects, but I read that these links also lay implications... I want to know what should I expect" while saying that, you slightly diverted your gaze downwards, sending a faint vibe of insecurity.

"I see... You've been reading to old man Vaughan lately, haven't you?" she specified, to which you silently nodded one's head.

"The old man is a star of the academy's arcane arts department. Just like many, after reading his opus magnum handbook for the young mages, I wished to discover some aspect link within myself just to be able to attend his practice classes, but that never happened. He does sound a bit paternalizing, but most of the things he mentions about the implications of being linked to aspects are true" she stumbled for a bare moment before continuing, "And your case is indeed unique in its rarity and complexity. The combination of the spirit aspect and thaumaturgy is probably the rarest one possible. Being linked to the spirit aspect means that you are highly sensitive to all sorts of entities, both seen and unseen, as well as their domain also known as Limbus. Spirit mages live under the constant siege of paranormal events and entities which no ordinary people can even register. Thus, they are often ostracised by society for the fact they can manipulate others very essences, which makes them even more prone to succumb to mental conditions. Being connected to the spiritual aspect means that the deeper you would delve into it, the more heavily your sanity, judgment, and perceptions will be impacted. It is a spread assumption that many mages descend to madness due to being unable to cope with the price of being linked to the spirit arcane aspect".

"Wh-what can I do about it? I don't want to... to go insane" you spoke out with wide eyes, to which Rosaline sighed and sympathetically shook her head.

"I'm afraid you don't have that many options, my girl. The price of wielding an aspect increases with your proficiency in it, so one thing you can do is not pursue the power it offers. The only alternative to that is training one's reason and will, along with establishing strong links to the non-paranormal realm. Whenever path you would choose, I wish you safe".

The answer and her good wishes reassured you. Maybe. "And what about thaumaturgy?".

"As you may or may not know already, thaumaturgy is the most mysterious of all the aspects: we know little of it, we don't know why it manifests through light, and we don't know how exactly it works. Only humans can very rarely discover their capabilities in thaumaturgy, which makes its studying complicated. Maybe because of this shroud of mystery, Olfadir and the entirety of Westlanders believe that those who wield thaumaturgy were chosen by their deity - the Highfather. They call them saints for that and mistify heavily. Olfadirian legends state that saints are able of various wondermaking and even diviation. One of their greatest saints and also one of the founders of the Highfather's church - a man of the Lyf heritage, by the way - was believed not only to summon dozens of blades made of light to fight by his side, burn heresy with columns of light, lift and apply curses, but also indirectly communicate the Highfather himself".

Your eyes were as round as buttons at that moment.

"Well, they say that each legend has a grain of truth for a reason, so if I were you, I would not expect everything to be true. What we do know, however, is the fact that thaumaturgy is both physically and mentally straining, centered around regulating other aspects, it has some connection to the Sun and maybe even stars, it may or may not be connected to the dreams like the ones you told me about, and that we might not know it full potency"

"I did not know that thaumaturgy is so unstudied..."

"It is, Lucifina. It surely is" Rosaline spoke out and for a few moments fall into that mentally-sheltered state, with her gaze aiming at nothingness while the thoughts accelerate. It wasn't the first time you saw her phasing out like that, but the scenes like that still retained an amusing sort of novelty in your eyes.

You decided not to eye her in such a state for too long and carefully pulled her by the sleeve of her fancy dress.

"Are you fine, lady Rosaline?"

She twitched like being awakened from a quick nap, instantaneously returning to more ordinary state. "Yes, Lucifina, I'm fine. I was just... nevermind". After saying that, she fixed the sleeve which you pulled a moment ago.

"Now, if I remember correctly, I promised you to make two announcements"

Your face curved in a hopefully-anticipating expression.

"The first thing I need you to know is that there will be no more obligatory morning lessons"

You did not know how to comment on that. Was it because you underperformed? Or because you upset her somehow? "Why so?" you inquired quietly.

"You've learned the necessary essentials to learn on your own, to orient in the environment, and to manage your own time. I'm not saying that I am abandoning you - on the contrary: should you need my advice or knowledge, I would be happy to oblige you with such. But for the major part, you now have more freedom, and I'm waiting to see how exactly will you use it".

You breathed out in relief, that is, actually, a very welcoming change. Maybe you grew accustomed to your regular lessons, but the temptation of having more control and independence outweighed the associated melancholia of letting those days go.

"And what is the second thing?"

"Due to the external circumstances, I can no longer postpone my political duties which require me to travel to the capital in two days time from now. My leave will last for four to five days, and thus, I'll make sure others watch you while I'm absent. Just so you know, I will be here until tomorrow evening, checking on my contacts in the city. If you so desire, we can arrange another town tour, but only if you would promise me to behave during it and after I depart. So, what would you say?"

_________________________

With your basic education finished, you now have more time on your hands. For this voting, in particular, you have three major actions and one minor action. It can be converted into two major and three minor actions, or into one major and five minor actions.

[] (Your custom_name plan)

[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
-[] Defense
-[] Ranged combat
-[] Armorsmithing
-[] Weaponsmithing
-[] Artificiery
-[] Pharma and treatment
-[] Daily craft
-[] Tailoring
-[] Alchemy

(+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 (+2/5) , 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

[] Go into town with Rosaline
(Time-limited opportunity! You can modify it if you wish to visit a particular facility)

[] 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
-[] Ulren
-[] Amalia
-[] Claudius
-[] Isaac
-[] Erika
-[] Jory
-[] Karl
-[] Lodric
-[] 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))
Obviously, specify if necessary.

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

[] Preset plan: vicious girl! Kinda...
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
[] Intensive training of attributes
-[] STR
[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
[] Train your wings
[] Train your wings

[] Preset plan: savage magical girl!
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Melee combat
[] Intensive training of attributes
-[] STR
[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
[] Train your wings

[] Preset plan: squared magical girl!
[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Study soul aspect
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS
[] Train your wings
[] Train your wings

[] Preset plan: sweet girl!
[] Go into town with Rosaline
[] Train your wings
[] Train your wings
[] Socialize with
-[] Ulren
--[] Try to inquire him more on his homeland. Ask him about why did he pick you in the first place. Hard (24) persuasion check + luck roll
[] Socialize with
-[] Amalia
--[] Ask her more about likes and dislikes, about her favorite books, and about helping you out with braiding your hair.
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS

[] Preset plan: handy girl!
[] Go into town with Rosaline
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Pharma and treatment
[] Learn/raise your skills!
-[] Tailoring
[] Routine attribute training
-[] WIS

Mother Nyx · Aug 11, 2018

Lucy is such a peach. Rosa seems to be slowly warming up to us. Maybe.

Also, again, thank you for the inclusion of pre-set plans!

[X] Preset plan: savage magical girl!
[X] Learn/raise your skills!
-[X] Melee combat
[X] Intensive training of attributes
-[X] STR
[X] Practice or study your aspects!
-[X] Practice thaumaturgy
[X] Train your wings

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

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Mother of Elpis