Right, dragon slayer trainee. We should probably ask her if she knows anything about it.
(ICly, at least. OOC, I think we decided that we ate the thing that was making the lacrima that make dragon slayers into dragon slayers, and Sidhe might freak out?)
Interesting - I wasn't around for that discussion, but I thought it was related to the black dragon's ascension. It was described as bathing in the blood of the dragons he slew, which could be a really flowery metaphor for getting power from being surrounded by dead dragons, and that moon was basically a great big pile of dead dragons...
That is assuming the moon dead dragon pile haven't already been drained of whatever relevant juice/power.
I mean, it could simply be a cultural thing that dragons go up in space to die (of old age?) but it seem a bit strange. Imo, it's more likely that someone else already drained the corpses and then put them up there so they'd be both out of the way and preserved if latter need be.
That is assuming the moon dead dragon pile haven't already been drained of whatever relevant juice/power.
I mean, it could simply be a cultural thing that dragons go up in space to die (of old age?) but it seem a bit strange. Imo, it's more likely that someone else already drained the corpses and then put them up there so they'd be both out of the way and preserved if latter need be.
I think you mean Al Thamen. Alma Torran was the previous world where Solomon lived and the cultists are the ones who destroyed it and plan to repeat that here. I'm not sure how much of this is relevant for this quest, but in canon we're dealing with at least two different tiers of both power and knowledge.
All the mages of Alma Torran were equivalent to Magi and even had special staffs that let them access even greater power. They also had access to much greater levels of knowledge in terms of both magic itself and the world around them. As such, they could perform feats like immortality, vector manipulation*, FMA alchemy and a whole lot more. Basically everything we've seen so far with the Djinn's extreme magic, the dungeons themselves are magic spells designed to work that way.
Even the new world that Magi takes place in was created by a magician. The mage was backed by godlike raw power, but the mage designed the specific spell.
Modern mages are comparatively much weaker and besides the remnant Al Thamen, no one has cracked proper immortality yet though they probably have some form of life extension. Only people who have anything close is the Magi. One of them basically reincarnates with full knowledge of his past lives and the other one is in magical life support and interacts with the world through clones.
The Modern Mages actually used to be much weaker and weren't really that powerful until recently. They are currently undergoing their equivalent of an industrial revolution thanks to innovators like man who founded Magnostadt and the large presence of dungeon items that can be studied for their magic. This isn't relevant until later in the manga, but the Kou empire actually manage to replicate the power of a space-time manipulation Djinn to get army level teleportation(it needs set up on both ends though) which they later use to instantaneously move goods from place to place from international trade.
*A later feat was to punch someone really hard and warp reality so that the force exerted by the punch is constant which caused the affected character to literally accelerate into space.
I think you mean Al Thamen. Alma Torran was the previous world where Solomon lived and the cultists are the ones who destroyed it and plan to repeat that here. I'm not sure how much of this is relevant for this quest, but in canon we're dealing with at least two different tiers of both power and knowledge.
All the mages of Alma Torran were equivalent to Magi and even had special staffs that let them access even greater power. They also had access to much greater levels of knowledge in terms of both magic itself and the world around them. As such, they could perform feats like immortality, vector manipulation*, FMA alchemy and a whole lot more. Basically everything we've seen so far with the Djinn's extreme magic, the dungeons themselves are magic spells designed to work that way.
Even the new world that Magi takes place in was created by a magician. The mage was backed by godlike raw power, but the mage designed the specific spell.
Modern mages are comparatively much weaker and besides the remnant Al Thamen, no one has cracked proper immortality yet though they probably have some form of life extension. Only people who have anything close is the Magi. One of them basically reincarnates with full knowledge of his past lives and the other one is in magical life support and interacts with the world through clones.
The Modern Mages actually used to be much weaker and weren't really that powerful until recently. They are currently undergoing their equivalent of an industrial revolution thanks to innovators like man who founded Magnostadt and the large presence of dungeon items that can be studied for their magic. This isn't relevant until later in the manga, but the Kou empire actually manage to replicate the power of a space-time manipulation Djinn to get army level teleportation(it needs set up on both ends though) which they later use to instantaneously move goods from place to place from international trade.
*A later feat was to punch someone really hard and warp reality so that the force exerted by the punch is constant which caused the affected character to literally accelerate into space.
To be fair, Alivaril can apparently read at blistering fast speeds when he wants to, and isn't trying to, for example, savor a novel. I can read pretty fast (finishing off several hundred page novels within a few days), but Alivaril has me beat by, like, a factor of 2. At least. I'm pretty sure he reads at speeds more commonly seen in touch-typing.
To be fair, Alivaril can apparently read at blistering fast speeds when he wants to, and isn't trying to, for example, savor a novel. I can read pretty fast (finishing off several hundred page novels within a few days)
Cool. I should have specified that this is taking 3-4 hours out of my day to read. I take somewhere between 6-12 hours to knock out books of that size, up to...I dunno, 500-ish pages? Maybe more. I don't keep very close track of the specifics, really. Too busy reading. I know Alivaril's able to go significantly faster than me, though.
Edit: My vague recollection puts him at about 3 hours for a book of that size range, give or take a few hours.
You are very sensitive right now to how people around you see you right now. You don't need more judgement. You need as much information as you can before stepping foot into this gig.)
You're able to leave Vacuo without anyone seeing you depart. The navigation system says it should take you about two hours to reach Vacuo, assuming you leave the stealth system on the entire time.
@Mr. Zoat basic can't manage an update without someone giving him a bunch of correction. I remember him cheering once when he didn't get any for 12 hours.
concerning trolls et alI understand that you can be frustrated by some users, I understand that they can bother you, or make you feel like you are losing engagement with a thread, or worse. This can make one label them various things; shitposter, troll, etcetera. But it is important to draw a line and remember that they too, are fellow users drawing enjoyment from a thread, and that it is often not their desire to come off as such, and often caused by miscommunication or simple personal incompatibility.
The rules of Sufficient Velocity exist to provide a common ground for mutual interaction, in which everyone is sure of certain basic cornerstones of communication, and which consider the personal dignity of any single user important. Therefore, the third rule of Sufficient Velocity is there to ensure that everyone remains calm and civil, because let's face it, people get heated when someone is Wrong On The Internet. You've done it, I've done it, everyone probably has at some point, and it's important that we allow people to be angry and get heated, but refrain from reducing the conversation to personal attacks.
These rules interpret the non-consensual sharing of information gained through personal messages as a breach of common civility, as a violation of personal dignity, so to say. It is clear to me, that @Marcus. D. Basterd did not approve the sharing of this information, and as such an infraction of 25 points has been levied against your account. Normally, I would find it prudent to simply apply a staff notice, but due to continuous talk about the user in question after this, which can essentially be boiled down to talking behind his back after his threadban, I have seen fit to increase the infraction.
I wish you all a good day, and continued enjoyment of the story.
Beta-read by @Vebyast and partially by @Nixeu. [x] Admit you can do so personally and agree to cure the patients.
-[X] Offer to cure a few people while their Mages watch. If they can learn the techniques, they're welcome.
-[X] Use both methods you know, in case they have better luck with one over the other.
You don't see any good reason not to go along with it. While your mother did mention that investment manipulation was possible in the TSAB and Belkan Empire, she also followed it up by saying it required careful watching. You can't just promise them an expensive device when you might actually need that money in the near future. Plus, outright self-sufficiency is always better than something that could be stolen.
The delay does remind you that you're supposed to be pitching your voice differently, though. What's the point of learning to sing your words if you don't use that ability?
"Actually..." you slowly speak-sing. "I should be able to personally cure them. With at least two different methods, actually. Whether you'll be able to copy me afterward is another story."
Omri looks back at you as his eyes narrow with misplaced pride. Barely a second passes by before he reassumes control of his face and forces it into polite disagreement. The advisor waves one hand to encompass the shining city around you, raising both eyebrows.
"This is Magnostadt, city of five thousand mages. Shared magical traditions were all-but nonexistent before we came along. Within a measly twenty years we've shot ahead of the only other group—"
Omri appears to remember who and what he's talking to and snaps his mouth shut. You're guessing he was going to reference the only other magical faction you know of.
"Reassessing your worldview?" Mom asks dryly.
"A bit," Omri admits, then inclines his head slightly. "I'm afraid I must beg for your forgiveness; we are still grappling with the idea of those claiming to be above even Magi. I did not intend to imply you do not exist."
"...He's fishing for information, isn't he?"
"Indeed."
You sigh aloud and conjure a small fire in one palm. Your true emotions are another story entirely; you're happy to be able to show off. Still, since they might be able to have it do that much, you quickly have the ember dart up to your head and begin an uneven orbit.
"Don't you need structured spells for this sort of thing? Because I don't use either nearly as often as you probably do."
You feed the ember a little more Red mana before splitting it into three separate parts. Each assumes its own orbital path without any visible effort from yourself. It isn't as hard as you expected it to be, either; your Training with Linker Core magics has served you well.
"Using Red to purify them will be a lot like this, but inside their bodies. I can heal the collateral damage as I go if I really need to, but honestly? I think making your healers do it will be the only way they'll be able to tell what I did in the first place. I doubt you'll even be able to sense my second method of healing."
"And we do not claim to be above them," Agneyastra interjects. "Jade is the only goddess here, one who has previously devoured the heart of a moon for yet more power. The rest of us are mere immortals."
You cover your mouth with one hand to suppress a giggle. You suppose that is one way of describing what you did to the orbital dragon boneyard, yes.
"Hold on, how have I not heard this story before?" Sidhe asks abruptly. "It sounds important."
"And seems either really cool oooorrrr catastrophically evil," Nanoha adds.
You browse through a few of your past storytelling sessions and frown. You think you might've mentioned eating an orbiting artifact at some point, but not the part where the draconic boneyard was intended to imitate a moon. Or, well, the part where it was made out of hundreds of dead dragons. Oops?
"It's how we made my current Linker Core. I could've sworn I told you already, but maybe not? Sorry. I'll fix that later tonight. And, um, it wasn't literally eating the 'heart' of a moon, we just hollowed it out. Mom is having fun with words, that's all."
You choose not to mention the part where it happened to be made of dragon bones. That might lead to some emotional backlash. Even if you don't intend to hide it from Sidhe, it's not really a bombshell you should drop in public.
Sidhe transmits a hrmph. "Won't this encourage them to try eating their own moon now? I mean, magic. It's what I'd do."
"By the time they could possibly manage it, we'll have enough infrastructure in place to casually construct a replacement. It is not worth worrying about."
Omri starts to glance upward before forcing his gaze back to the path ahead.
"Last I checked, the moon was still perfectly intact and as magically significant as it's always been."
"Dibs!" you send over the general channel.
"I didn't say I ate yours," you scoff. "It's probably made of dust and rock and other gross stuff instead of anything healthy. Just because I can eat those doesn't mean I want to."
A golden octagram forms beneath your feet, an identically-colored square forcefield forming beneath a nearby piece of gravel. Changing the coordinates of the shield's four points is enough to throw the stone toward yourself. The flying projectile is soon caught with one hand, popped into your mouth, and crushed between whatever ridiculous teeth replacements you possess these days. As expected, it tastes like dirt, but it's worth it just for the look on Omri's face and the redoubled chattering from onlookers.
After several seconds, you swallow the rock dust and briefly stick out your tongue. One finger is used to brush off most of the remaining dust and flick it past the overly-large sleeves of your regalia.
"That was about as icky as I expected. Anyway, you guys need your moon for tidal patterns and stuff. I guess I could destroy it, but why would I want to? That'd be a waste of a perfectly good morning and then I'd have to make a new one myself. Bor-ring."
"...Do you have the Sonic games in your world?" Nanoha asks oddly.
"Um, I think so? Why?"
"No reason."
You consider demanding elaboration, but ultimately decide to let the reference go. A good thing, too, since Omri seems to have finally settled on a response.
"...Forgive me for asking the obvious, but which moon did you eat? I believed there was only one and am worried something may have been lost in translation."
"I speak and understand every language in existence perfectly," you answer calmly. "I seldom even hear accents. As for your question, suffice to say your universe is larger than you think."
It probably is, too. Few people truly understand just how massive planets and space are. You're not even sure you're counted among the people who do, not when the Stalker can make travel times so ridiculously short.
Several seconds pass in silence before you belatedly remember Mother's task. You're supposed to be scanning the city while she works on diplomacy. Messing with Omri was fun, but you're not sure how to follow it up.
"Mom, could you take over?"
"Certainly."
You step around and behind Agneyastra, looking back at your other friends as you do so. Both seem to be perfectly content with sightseeing, but...
"Mitra, do you need or want anything? I think you're the only person who hasn't talked so much."
"Nanoha's been keeping me company, don't worry. Also, skating around the restrictions on predictive modeling is several orders of magnitude harder than it needs to be, so there's that. Still, thanks for the thought!"
"Mmm. Um, you're welcome."
You return your attention to the outside world and begin scanning it in earnest. Magnostadt has perhaps the most Green auras you've ever seen, nearly every building having some sort of miniature garden outside each window or atop nearby balconies. The vast majority of said gardens seem to be growing edible vegetables or herbs instead of the decorative flowers you've come to expect from such displays. Even just looking at the magical boxes they're in is enough to teach you a little more about Green-assisted plant growth.
(Ability Improved: Rapid Growth [Rank 1 -> 2]
The magicians you'd previously dismissed prove to be rather more interesting than first anticipated. Or rather, most of them are still boring, but their staves are another story. The objects in question appear to follow fantasy conventions when it comes to storing and focusing power, certainly, but they're also endowed with colorless flight capabilities of their own. You'll definitely need to scan your memories in detail later on; if RPGs have taught you anything, it's that utility magical items are always overpowered. No exceptions.
The few mages flying independent of such staves seem to be using variants on the same Blue or White flight spells. Such Blue mages tend to sit on what appear to be solidified clouds while the Whites have what could charitably be called "wings." As you're not feeling particularly charitable, you'll just call them giant oval-ish butterfly imitations.
(Ability Discovered: Blue Flight [Rank 0])
(Ability Discovered: Misty Wings of Bad Butterfly Imitation [Rank 0])
Two people use Blue/White hybrids, but they're too high up for you to get a particularly good look at them. You intend to pin down the exact effects of each separate Enchantment when you have the time, even if they do belong to the colors you least enjoy; more outside-context methods of maneuvering are always welcome.
Black flows through the ground beneath your feet and saturates most of the area. Since you can also sense some Blue and White down there, you think it might be some sort of distribution system for magical power. Unfortunately, you can't get a good enough look to be certain. The road is in the way.
I could probably fix that at the cost of tanking local property values.
White REINFORCEs every structure you can see and lets the people of Magnostadt get away with some truly ridiculous architecture, including what seem to be a few practically-floating aqueducts. Side-by-side Red and Blue auras can be found in nearly every household, the twin auras of FIRE and ICE likely serving as magical air conditioning systems when necessary. Since it's a nice day outside, none of them are active right now.
Eventually, you reach the campus at the center of Magnostadt and blink. The REINFORCE you'd expected, but what on earth is HEXPROOF/ABSORB/ALARM supposed to be? Something about making spells slide off? But if so, wouldn't they just hit the grass instead?
(Ability Discovered: Hexproof [Rank 0])
Although most mages outside seemed to be categorized by their color of robes, every student you can see is wearing simple black ones instead. Quite a few mages are your own age, but surprisingly, there are also quite a few adult students. Maybe they didn't have the benefit of a magical education earlier in life? Either way, you're pretty sure they're supposed to be someplace other than the courtyard, something they seem well aware of.
You don't want to laugh at the misfortune of other people, you truly don't, but there are three or so separate collisions from people staring at you whilst still walking forward. You're forced to cover your mouth to suppress the giggling birthed by a fourth accident.
That same hand also serves to cover your retching after you actually sense the mana concentration of the connected structures before you. There's plenty of Blue and White, certainly, but there's also the familiar wrongness of Devoid. It seems to be contained in tiny spirits for the time being, but if enough of them are gathered in one place? They'd collapse and make the area as hostile as Eternity. This many mages might be able to contain such environmental changes, although the predators between planes would be another story entirely. Your predecessor worked hard to conceal this section of Eternity from their gluttonous gazes; the last thing you need is to bring them back.
"Jade?"
"Are you alright?"
"Are you unwell?" Omri echoes, appearing genuinely concerned.
[x] Admit you can do so personally and agree to cure the patients.
-[X] Offer to cure a few people while their Mages watch. If they can learn the techniques, they're welcome.
-[X] Use both methods you know, in case they have better luck with one over the other.
[] Order them to cease any and all of their experiments into Devoid mana lest you burn their academy to the ground. You're dealing with a planar-level threat; "overreaction" isn't really in your vocabulary at this point.
-[] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
-[] On second thought, just construct a few Red wolves and sic them on the auras you can sense. You need to make it clear there's a zero-tolerance policy for this.
[] No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
-[] You CAN tap it yourself, but you know better. In small quantities, it might be able to fuel spells without any visible effects. In larger amounts? It'll grow and grow until it either eats the world or baits the beings that CAN.
[] Tell Agneyastra about the Devoid spirits, mention how insanely dangerous it is, and let her handle it. You cannot into diplomacy.
[] Write-in
Voting will be locked for 60 minutes after this first goes up.
I have to say, I love the way you can twist settings to fit together in clever and interesting ways. Definitely looking forward to when we figure out the metaphysics involved.
Omri appears to remember who and what he's talking to and snaps his mouth shut. You're guessing he was going to reference the only other magical faction you know of.
"And we do not claim to be above them," Agneyastra interjects. "Jade is the only goddess here, one who has previously devoured the heart of a moon for yet more power. The rest of us are mere immortals."
"I didn't say I ate yours," you scoff. "It's probably made of dust and rock and other gross stuff instead of anything healthy. Just because I can eat those doesn't mean I want to."
A golden octagram forms beneath your feet, an identically-colored square forcefield forming beneath a nearby piece of gravel. Changing the coordinates of the shield's four points is enough to throw the stone toward yourself. The flying projectile is soon caught with one hand, popped into your mouth, and crushed between whatever ridiculous teeth replacements you possess these days. As expected, it tastes like dirt, but it's worth it just for the look on Omri's face and the redoubled chattering from onlookers.
After several seconds, you swallow the rock dust and briefly stick out your tongue. One finger is used to brush off most of the remaining dust and flick it past the overly-large sleeves of your regalia.
"That was about as icky as I expected. Anyway, you guys need your moon for tidal patterns and stuff. I guess I could destroy it, but why would I want to? That'd be a waste of a perfectly good morning and then I'd have to make a new one myself. Bor-ring."
Also really shows just how far Jade has come. She's not just okay acting out in front of other people, she's doing it during diplo-stuff and actively enjoying the grandstanding.
"Mitra, do you need or want anything? I think you're the only person who hasn't talked so much."
"Nanoha's been keeping me company, don't worry. Also, skating around the restrictions on predictive modeling is several orders of magnitude harder than it needs to be, so there's that. Still, thanks for the thought!"
Kinda surprised that Jade didn't take a quick jaunt up to check out the Blue/White flight spells; it'd be useful to demonstrate just how much her casual flight outclasses everyone else's. Alternatively, does mage sight work through portals? Could've thrown one up just big enough to see through, or asked Agneyastra to do the same.
Eventually, you reach the campus at the center of Magnostadt and blink. The REINFORCE you'd expected, but what on earth is HEXPROOF/ABSORB/ALARM supposed to be? Something about making spells slide off? But if so, wouldn't they just hit the grass instead?
We should make sure that Sidhe caught that. Or, since we're probably missing tons of stuff, ask her to point out anything particularly interesting she finds.
That same hand also serves to cover your retching after you actually sense the mana concentration of the connected structures before you. There's plenty of Blue and White, certainly, but there's also the familiar wrongness of Devoid. It seems to be contained in tiny spirits for the time being, but if enough of them are gathered in one place? They'd collapse and make the area as hostile as Eternity. This many mages might be able to contain such environmental changes, although the predators between planes would be another story entirely. Your predecessor worked hard to conceal this section of Eternity from their gluttonous gazes; the last thing you need is to bring them back.
[] Order them to cease any and all of their experiments into Devoid mana lest you burn their academy to the ground. You're dealing with a planar-level threat; "overreaction" isn't really in your vocabulary at this point.
-[] Colorless is OK, but they've gone too far out the other side.
I think this honestly isn't that much of an overreaction.
[] Order them to cease any and all of their experiments into Devoid mana lest you burn their academy to the ground. You're dealing with a planar-level threat; "overreaction" isn't really in your vocabulary at this point.
[] No, you're not okay. They're manufacturing Devoid mana. Do they even realize how horrifyingly dangerous that is?
-[] You CAN tap it yourself, but you know better.
Actually, I'm starting to wonder what's up with Sidhe. We've just seen two variations on counterspell plus hexproof, but she's not doing anything at all about it. I expected eye-sparkles at least, maybe even a bit of experimental spellcasting.
The magicians you'd previously dismissed prove to be rather more interesting than first anticipated. Or rather, most of them are still boring, but their staves are another story. The objects in question appear to follow fantasy conventions when it comes to storing and focusing power, certainly, but they're also endowed with colorless flight capabilities of their own. You'll definitely need to scan your memories in detail later on; if RPGs have taught you anything, it's that utility magical items are always overpowered. No exceptions.
Actually, I'm starting to wonder what's up with Sidhe. We've just seen two variations on counterspell plus hexproof, but she's not doing anything at all about it. I expected eye-sparkles at least, maybe even a bit of experimental spellcasting.
You think Sidhe might just not find the various magics to be as interesting as you do. She seems to gravitate toward the immaterial. She'd probably find the flight spells interesting, but you're not sure her senses are good enough to analyze those from a distance.
You plan on making sure she has what she wants for when you're busy healing healing people.
