Basically, unlike essence, if we get another Concordance ethos, we should probably look for something closer to Cleaver as opposed to something radically different, as that might just end up screwing Cleaver over.
Well, we don't want something TOO close to [Cleaver]. The synergy between [Dream] and [Bedrock] works because each Ethos has weakpoints that the other Ethos covers, which allows us to effectively win at any application of Essence we put our hand to. We don't need two daggers, we need a dagger and an axe.
Now, I don't necessarily think we NEED a high Fracture Ethos, but if we do get another Concordance Ethos, then what we really need is one that will grant us Awareness of the Concord to a degree that we can see things coming. Right now we only have Super Low Awareness of Inner Tension; we are effectively blind to the workings of Concordance that would potentially be used against us.
Well, we don't want something TOO close to [Cleaver]. The synergy between [Dream] and [Bedrock] works because each Ethos has weakpoints that the other Ethos covers, which allows us to effectively win at any application of Essence we put our hand to. We don't need two daggers, we need a dagger and an axe.
Oh yeah. I'm just concerned that with how Tension and Fracture work that thinking "We need something to complement Cleaver, therefore it has to be High fracture." will give us 1 to 2 Ethea that don't work as well as they should. But even with Low fracture (and potentially even low innate tension) there's a ton of potential ways to affect the Concord in ways unlike Cleaver. I'd suspect Limited Coordinate of being something like that.
But yeah, something that grants us awareness is the real big prize. We need to be able to sense the mechanisms of the Concord better.
@Slyvena will you be updating the status spreadsheet to show the end of 2.6, or will you just be doing that along with the release of 2.7? Granted, the main changes would just be XP from healing our family, practice with [Shine], and healing Evie, but I believe you had mentioned that meeting up with our Locus also helped bump up the Grasp for some of our subabilities.
The true purpose of this placement should always remain hidden, intuitive concordant rearrangement would be too difficult to keep contained within mortal hands and would restrict the ability to use finesse instead of brute force in future adjustments.
...Oh I just realised how fucking ludicrously bullshit cleaver is.
We can't direct our tension.
Innate or Channeled, we don't direct it. We don't choose how to pull on the lines. It's not intuitive, because even if that was possible that would still be an active choice, like throwing a ball instead of Calculating the Ballistics.
Every active effect of Cleaver isn't using Tension, it's intuitively reshaping our Fractures to grab the right connections and then letting our Tension do as it will!
We don't "Pull on the line that makes an ant live 2 more days". We "Want an Ant to live for 2 more days, and in doing so the necessary lines are pulled". We don't "Make a Rock fall left instead of right", We "Want a rock to Fall left instead of Right, so the necessary tension is exerted to make it so". We don't "Pick the perfect Lilly from Countless thousands", we "Need to act perfectly, and so are pulled towards the actions we would consider perfect".
Remember, we're the Cleaver, not the Ethos - We decide what the future we want is, the Ethos is just the mechanism to allow us to reach it. Direction isn't the important part, and why sense Fractures or external tension when what matters is you, those things are just distractions from you deciding what the future shall be!
Can you please explain how your idea correlates with the quoted passage about intuitive concordant rearrangement kept out of mortal hands, 3rd (from Library of Achievement Foundational Ethos)? Like you said it's not intuitive on Lilly's part but this kind of background concordance manipulation you ascribe to the Ethos sounds very similar.
Can you please explain how your idea correlates with the quoted passage about intuitive concordant rearrangement kept out of mortal hands, 3rd (from Library of Achievement Foundational Ethos)? Like you said it's not intuitive on Lilly's part but this kind of background concordance manipulation you ascribe to the Ethos sounds very similar.
Intuitive for me indicates that there must be some level of intent in the action being performed. Let's use the example of throwing a Ball. Directed shaping would be carefully plotting the angle of the throw, the amount of force required, and so on.
Intuitive shaping would be simply throwing the ball, making the conscious choice to move your arm. You're still awware of what your arm is doing,, how you want to throw and when you release the ball, but you don't need to carefully plan things out as much to achieve a specific effect.
My suspicions are that what's happening with Cleaver is more like cleaver acting as an intermediary that does all of the Directed Tension Shaping (NOT Fracture - we know that we can shape Fracture intuitively). It's like, if we wanted to throw the ball, only for our body to then do all of the actions needed of it's own accord without us even being aware of it. We're not doing the actions needed to throw the ball, intuitively or directed.
We can already see an example of this with the Ladder, which is described as a structure, one that is passively active at all times. We cannot choose where the ladder goes in the concord or willfully shape it's structure, we can only tell it what information we want. We might be able to put concordant weight on something, but concordant weight seems to be Concordances equivalent of fuel, or stamina.
Edit: Another, more likely now that I think of it answer is that nothing we've done so far is actually 'Shaping Tension' at all, but simply applying our concordant weight to things we are connected to in such a way to cause an effect.
Managed to put together that omake over the last week or so, though it went in somewhat of a different direction than I originally thought. Hope you enjoy!
Once and Future King
They called him Adam Kadmon, and he was meant to be the first and the last. His birth was natural, but every moment since was carefully managed and controlled. Even his first sight, before he could possibly understand or comprehend, was not of his mother or father, but rather the Founding King's graven image. From an outsider's perspective, it was as though Adam Kadmon was told to spend as much time in the past as he did in the present, endlessly presented with statues and paintings to memorize, treatises and records to scrutinize, stories and myths to idolize.
What was it all for? Well, the Prognosticators and Event-Adjusters, they both spoke of a great upheaval that would come over the land ere too long, visible to nigh all those who could wield Temporality and glimpse the Timeplane. Yet, they also saw that a warrior king would soon rise, one with a mighty and novel Role that drew upon the strength of his ancestors, though his might could not itself stop whatever change would sweep the land. However, that soon-to-arrive king could be, at the conclusion of a grand Play with just the right Roles, put in a deep slumber for many years. He would survive, even if their storied kingdom collapsed in the coming calamity, and he could restore their traditions when the time came for his awakening.
Perhaps one of Adam Kadmon's siblings would have proved more suitable, or perhaps they could have even let another generation go by before deciding; these things were always inexact. Yet, Adam's esteemed father was the [Resolver of Prophecies], and thus it was against his very nature to anticipate an uncertain future when the mystery could be resolved in the here and now. So, the burden was placed onto the head of Adam Kadmon, to lay the present aside in favor of the past, all so that sought-after Role would reveal itself to him during his Unmasking. Fortunately for all involved, it did.
***
Finally, it was time. Adam was quite curious to see what sort of force the men of this new era would first send to oppose his return, for surely the Temporality-wielding advisors of various princes and potentates would glimpse the rise of his dread personage. Would they underestimate him and send only a squad or two, or would he have an entire unit waiting for him once he exited his 'tomb'?
It will be akin to my destruction of the Mythril Spears, Queen Elyra the Wanderer whispered from his shoulder. They will resonate with the Angelforce, shape elements from the Worldheat, attempt to impose on you through the Psychostream, but none of it will be enough, and you will overwhelm them all, for you are the [Once and Future King].
Yes, Adam thought as he gathered his equipment and cycled Elyra's {Knife's Edge Kata} to banish any lingering torpor, truly, his first battle would be glorious…
Ah, footsteps upon the stairs? Not very many, perhaps they sent a group ahead to scout. He would show them the folly of such an action, though it may be prudent to leave one alive so that their reports would demoralize the larger force that was surely encamped outside.
Yet, whatever mocking greeting Adam was preparing died on his lips as this party came into view. Surely not…were the men of this era truly so deprived of power that they would send five children to oppose him?
He dismissed the one farthest back with merely a glance. Just some peasant girl – the coloration of her hair was a bit strange, but it was likely just a somewhat uncommon aftereffect of drawing flame from the Worldheat. A mage-in-training then, one who fancied herself a hero. It was perhaps a bit unfortunate, but he would soon cut short whatever destiny she may have had.
Next, he considered and dismissed the one who looked like a noble. He was already familiar with their type, boys and girls who grew bored of their responsibilities and duties and ran off to their deaths battling the lizardfolk or the Clockwork Legion. She likely had some kind of relatively powerful connection to the Angelforce – he assumed she was able to handily defeat her brothers and household guard and thus considered herself invincible. He would show her the depth of her misconception when she rushed at him.
The final one he could dismiss out of hand was a bit older, but still clearly inexperienced. He would guess that she was their designated Boongiver, empowering the rest with the Psychostream or That Which Was Given. The others would step in to defend her, he was sure, but he was confident that her lingering doubts would be her downfall.
The last two were, perhaps, just a bit more interesting.
One of them was in fact a woman grown, though he could be forgiven for missing that fact when she accompanied four mere children into the depths of his tomb. She gave him a smirk that lesser men than him would have called predatory. Well, most of his forebears would not disagree that "discretion was the better part of valor." Focusing on one of his constructs, coupled with the {All-Seeing Eye} of King Altos the Just, Adam detected the energies of the Demonpact and the Psychostream pulsing around her as the bearded lawgiver appeared on his shoulder. She even had some kind of Theo-link. He would need to be a bit more wary of her than the rest…
As for the final girl, who stood just a bit ahead of their minder as if she was the one in charge, his construct picked up a veritable myriad of energies…those readings could not be correct; perhaps she was using some esoteric effect of That Which Was Given to crudely mimic the rest of the energies. No matter, any such deception would fail before Altos' Eye…
…
…
…Impossible. That, that was simply impossible. She…she must be wearing an Artifact of concealment that can even throw off the {All-Seeing Eye}! Yes, that must be-
Nay lad, loath as I am to say it, everything you see about her is true. Their mantles of power aren't quite the same in this age, but she's effectively got enough Roles to fill a whole Troupe herself.
Shaken by this revelation, Adam Kadmon failed to take control of the conversation from the start, so it fell to that same exceptional girl to clear her throat and begin.
"Myah, give us all a general boost just in case, yeah? Kaymie, ready a few 'standard packages.' Hello, brave warrior from another time. My name is Lilly, and these are my companions. We were informed that you would be waking soon, and we're here not to fight you or to impede your return to the surface, but to make you an offer. There-"
By this point, Adam had recovered himself, and his anger began to pique. This girl may be extraordinary, but she was still just a girl, and she dared to speak to him as an equal? To lay out terms? Nay, such a thing would not stand.
"Hold your tongue, girl! I am Adam Kadmon, first and last, the [Once and Future King]! I refuse to-"
Paying him no mind, Lilly half-turned to that noble's prodigal daughter. "Val, if you would? Don't go too far though, we're still in the negotiating phase."
A calculating smile came to that once-beatific face, though it was nowhere near as…unnerving as the one worn by their minder. "It would be my pleasure, Lilly."
Lad, watch that one! She's got some of the deepest grasp on the Demonpact I've ever seen! King Altos tried to offer a warning from his place by Adam's ear, but it was too late.
"Stop talking until she's done. Listen to her."
At once, Adam Kadmon realized how rude he was being, and instantly ceased his backtalk. Surely, he should pay Lilly the courtesy of hearing her out, if nothing else. He felt King Altos lay a reassuring hand on his brow and then fade, as another ancestor apparently intended to make an appearance, but most of his attention was focused on the irritating girl in front of him.
"Thank you, Valerie. Now, where was I? There are all sorts of dangers in the world and beyond, just as in your time, and there is even a calamity fast approaching, though we know not whether it will take a similar shape as yours did. We are in the early stages of forging a Grand Alliance to oppose all these threats - whether they be petty men, ferocious beasts, capricious spirits, or any other sort of being. We are travelling the world, collecting weapons, items, and, most importantly, allies for these battles to come. Our investigations of you have shown that it is possible for you to be convinced to join us, which is why we're here. In the interest of transparency, I will be putting you under a {Heroic Geas} if you agree, but we can negotiate on terms that won't be too restrictive. Now then…Mar, do you feel that?"
"Sure do sis, seems we've got a guest on the way," the oldest of the five replied as her eyes began to glow a faint red.
Adam wasn't sure at first what they were referring to, focused as he was on contemplating the details of Lilly's ridiculous generous offer, but he quickly realized that a new metaphysical weight was settling on his shoulder. Most of his ancestors' spirits were a uniform white, but the remnant of the inscrutable masked Horticulture Regent glowed a vibrant green, one that seemed perceptible to at least two of the interlopers visitors.
Greetings, little Adam. I felt some familiar energies nearby and decided I had to investigate, though I didn't expect them to notice my presence in return. Well, I suppose that makes communication with them easier.
Something shifted, just slightly, and now the Regent spoke with an audible voice; it was clear, though nothing could be gleaned from its timbre, and it carried the length of the 'tomb' even though the Regent's quintessence maintained its small stature.
"Warmest blessings of the Green and Rainbow to you both, Marigold of the Bloody Rose and Lilly of the Night's Strain. Pray, forgive my descendant's impetuousness. It was…uncommon, shall we say, to meet a lady 'born in the pistil', as it were, in Adam's day, near the close of our Era."
Adam regained himself somewhat suspended his deliberations for a moment upon hearing this. "…Regent, did I understand that correctly? These two, on top of having blood pulsing with power on one hand and wearing more masks than a whole village on the other, are also nobility of the Court of Blossoms?" Should he manage to earn more than a footnote in the histories of this Era, a possibility that Adam once thought inevitable but seemed to be diminishing rapidly over the last few minutes, he hoped that the historians would do him the favor of omitting the way his voice rose farther towards shrillness than he had intended. Luckily, the two in question seemed more confused than annoyed.
Marigold seemed to be searching for what to say, but Lilly simply closed her eyes for a moment and nodded, as if the forthcoming words came to her with ease. "Warmest blessings of the Crimson and the Sable to you, wise Regent. In turn, I hope you can forgive our ignorance – our grand and splendiferous Mother, long may her petals spread 'round the world, must have been too busy with her myriad other tasks to inform us of your presence."
In the brief but absolute silence that followed, Adam thought that everyone present must have heard that oh-so-subdued note of resentment that Lilly failed to restrain (or was it 'allowed to escape'?). It went unremarked upon, however, and that girl, one who seemed to effortlessly cleave out her own path, continued. (Heavens Beyond, was she really descended from the likes of the [Omni-Poisoner] and the Mistress of the Courtyard of Ravens?)
"Regent, I know not whether you are a long-ago bud of our truly vast genealogical tree, whether you only know our Mother through glimpses and visions, or any other possibility in between or elsewhere. Frankly, that's not the sort of knowledge we concern ourselves with. What we are concerned with, among many other things, is gathering knowledge of the past so that it may aid us in charting a course towards a better future. If you, your compatriots, and your descendant agree to join our cause and help us gather that knowledge, we would certainly share our own with you in turn."
"Speaking for myself, I certainly did not lend my quintessence to this effort only to attack the first people my sight fell upon in this time, particularly not a party with such an interesting proposal. My various relatives and I will need to have a summit of sorts, but I will let them know that I support an alliance with you. Though, much of this hinges upon our youngest descendant, I daresay. Adam, what say you, hmm?"
Adam Kadmon, to put it bluntly, was feeling overwhelmed. He had expected to run roughshod over the equivalent of poorly armed militia with ill-fitting Roles, but was instead confronted with the sort of figures that appeared in prophecies. His father would have quickly made a decision, to either ally with or crush such figures so that each prophecy could be resolved or disproven as rapidly as possible rather than hanging over the future of the nation like a weight.
Come to think of it…
Father, are you there? I need your advice.
He made excuses to those waiting on his reply, and thanked whatever angel was saddled with the burden of being his guardian for so long that the four youngest girls became enthralled in some inane story the Horticulture Regent began to weave, something about how a single daisy, clear as glass, ended up on the moon. Marigold seemed to listen in part, but Adam knew she kept a wary eye on him throughout.
Some minutes later, Adam felt a 'reply' of a sort, and the Regent paused their story.
"Ah, we shall pick this up another time. Ta-ta for now, I suppose, though I suspect it will not take too long to gather a quorum of my fellows and discuss the situation; rather, not too long by 'standard time' at least."
And, as the green glow faded, a more familiar white glow took its place. Yesod, the penultimate king and [Resolver of Prophecies] arrived, channeling a bit more quintessence than strictly necessary so that he would be visible to them all.
"That masked fellow caught me up on most of what's happened, Adam, but I don't see why you called me specifically," his father said as he began to scan the room. His brow began to furrow in that 'mildly disapproving' way that Adam was very familiar with, but that only lasted until his eyes fell upon Lilly.
At once, his entire demeanor changed, from 'watchful and regal' to 'shocked' (a sight that Adam was much less familiar with) to 'outright disbelief' to something approaching 'acceptance.'
"Son, that girl there is the Uniter of Sources. To put it mildly, I would strongly suggest that you get on her good side."
Much more was said that day, within that tomb, back at camp, and in the world beyond, but it was already a foregone conclusion that Adam Kadmon and the kings and queens of yore would join their fates that should have already been ended to the just-emerging fate of Lilly Silas and her companions.
A/N:
I decided to focus more on the character interactions rather than attempt a big battle scene or anything like that since I don't think I could currently do one justice. I know Myah and Kaymie didn't really get to do much, but I couldn't really think of how to fit them into the course of events. If I write another omake sometime, I'll make sure they get a bigger role.
I am now imagining Healed!Valerie as Tattletale from Worm, though rather than speaking secrets that cannot be known and softly manipulating, Valerie speaks truths that must be understood and commands that must be obeyed. In the service of good now, though…right?
Adam's 'Role'/Ethos is based on Concordance/Legend, and allows him to channel various ancestor kings and queens of his dynasty to mimic some of their defining features/capabilities and receive counsel from their quintessence (appearing as small ghostly forms on his shoulders), though they don't always appear when he calls and can sometimes appear unprompted, depending on their own dealings in the next life. I am operating off the idea that the introduction of a new Source is what separates one Era from the next, and, following from that, that Legend is the newest Source (besides Maw), which came into being at the close of the Fifth Era. Adam Kadmon, then, would be one of the first, if not the first, whose Role/Ethos drew from Legend. I would imagine that, if Lilly allowed Adam to link himself to her Dreamscape, he would find a vast crypt built below the forest, filled with sarcophagi and funerary masks that resonate with Legend and link to his ancestors' quintessence in a somewhat similar way to Lilly's grove of statues.
Adam also has various looted constructs and at least one Artifact, but his sensory constructs as well as Altos' Eye are unable to detect Legend (and presumably Maw, if any was present). I imagine that he could potentially be a relatively challenging opponent for most forces from the low kingdoms, but it seems that his might pales in comparison to Lilly's friendship powers and her unmistakable drive for Unity.
Not really relevant, but I had a concept that Adam's long-faded kingdom went through three to five long Regencies, each presided over by a (presumably?) different Masked Regent after the nobles verified that the regent's Role would lead them to be competent and relatively impartial. The Horticulture Regent is the only one of immediate relevance, given their unclear connection to Flower and her Bloomlings in the current Era.
My Ideas for Fifth Era Terminology
Temporality -> Concordance
Timeplane -> the Concord
Angelforce -> Pithe
Worldheat -> Mana
Psychostream -> Flow
Energy That Was Given ("That Which Was Given") -> Essence
...It would be really nice if there was a remnant of a more civilized age, where a powerful king would have the capacity to accept an overpowered peasant girl as an equal (or as anything less than an effective slave) as long as it meant a better chance of saving all the realms from absolute destruction.
Because I strongly doubt that ANY of Adam's modern counterparts would accept such a premise unless and until all their forces had been beaten into the ground first.
Alas, it does seem that the current world does *not* select for moral and non-monstrous rulers, but rather for sociopaths with strong enslavement powers.
Though there does seem to at least be a minimum amount of enlightened self-interest involved.
@Slyvena will you be updating the status spreadsheet to show the end of 2.6, or will you just be doing that along with the release of 2.7? Granted, the main changes would just be XP from healing our family, practice with [Shine], and healing Evie, but I believe you had mentioned that meeting up with our Locus also helped bump up the Grasp for some of our subabilities.
Spread-sheet will get a massive revamp at the end of 2.6, partly to make it easier to manage, partly because of what will happen as you encounter the source of your name.
Alas, it does seem that the current world does *not* select for moral and non-monstrous rulers, but rather for sociopaths with strong enslavement powers.
The real world forces people to have at least some capacity for relationship building and establishing networks of trust. Any world that allows individuals to amass literal personal power will naturally be a far crueller one 99% of the time. Unless you're really lucky.
So long as we can manage to remain good and kind throughout the terrible process of becoming a local Big Good interested in enforcing basic decency, by force if necessary.
Though at the same time, each individual having more personal power also means that synergistic coalitions of people who genuinely cooperate and don't backstab each other are also that much stronger.
Does this technically count for interacting with great-great-grandma Flower? (That is, assuming that we actually WANT to help her somehow).
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So long as we can manage to remain good and kind throughout the terrible process of becoming a local Big Good interested in enforcing basic decency, by force if necessary.
That runs a bit into the issue of "don't hate the player, hate the game." The Ethos system lends itself to a "rich get richer" paradigm, where the means of getting better Ethae (knowledge of unlock conditions, paying for Locus attunement, outright bribing the gods) and Ethae improvement (something involving the dungeons) are a mix of uncommon knowledge and possible finite resources. If the only way to disencentive hoarding these advantages for yourself is simply "having the bigger hammer", than the system will snap right back once Lilly dies. You need an outright paradigm shift. You need a way to actively incentivize being a team player, because otherwise being a Person of Mass Destruction who can just grab whatever they want and shrug off a whole village trying to stop them is a VERY attractive option to those who have the means for it.
I was considering that Lilly's combination of connectivity (Dream), contagious benevolence (Shine), mental stability (Bedrock), combat power (Brave), inability to be easily redirected via Concordance (Cleaver), and likely eventual immortality (Tower) give her a rather unique opportunity to actually improve the world in the long run.
A hard path but it might be possible of Lilly. Not just because she's going to be immensely powerful either.
For all the chaos and darkness that's been getting hurled at Lilly whole quest, something I really appreciate is that her managing to keep her kindness despite the world's fuckery is actually being noticed.
All of Lilly's main allies that chose to put themselves under her banner? Sure her power absolutely played a path, but the thing that made them all willing to take the risk? It was it being obvious that Lilly isn't an asshole. She's a genuinely good person in a fucked up to hell world and quite reasonably, having a boss that you count on to try to act in your best interests? That's highly appealing to work with.
Having a genuine leader and ally you can count on to not fuck you over the moment its convenient. Someone you can truly care about and inspire you to be better too.
Like the kind of thing that has someone willing to defy their greater eldritch self, throw down with another eldritch, and stand up to sadist nobles over you. Because they all know and have proof that Lilly would step in for them too, not because of any future usefullness, but because its the right thing to do.
All of Lilly's main allies that chose to put themselves under her banner? Sure her power absolutely played a path, but the thing that made them all willing to take the risk? It was it being obvious that Lilly isn't an asshole. She's a genuinely good person in a fucked up to hell world and quite reasonably, having a boss that you count on to try to act in your best interests? That's highly appealing to work with.
We have seen evidence of this with Madam Silva. She did say that one of the major factors keeping her from turning Lilly in to the authorities based off what she's seen is that Lilly seems like someone who doesn't leave people out to dry once they've outlived their usefulness.
"I am simply saying that I see the writing on the wall, if you want a Diviner by your side, I am your woman. I know you obviously don't plan to stay loyal to Narisell or you would have already owned up to what you can do. The fact I am not reporting it now practically condemns me. But I know they would gladly take the knowledge for themselves with a 'thank you' and then leave me to burn when the other shoe drops. You... are less likely to do that. It's a risk either way, but I don't think I'm backing the wrong side.
And a re-readthrough has reminded me that the only reason we got Shine in the first place was because Lilly passed the 'actually has morals' test. Her power got Aurora's personal attention but we'd have likely never been a blip on her radar no matter how strong if it wasn't for Lilly demonstrating that power corrupts doesn't apply to her.
[Shine, my Gentle Heart] (Rare): (Flow)/Oath(Likely to hybridize to Flow/Oath) Conditions Met? Test of Purity: {Yes.} Test of Charity: {Yes.} Test of Valour: {Yes.}
When the whole world tries to guard only itself, often with very good reason, it would take an exceptional woman indeed to turn that logic on its head. You do not strive for shallow glory, but unblemished Goodness. Others shall call you foolish whilst secretly wishing they could climb half as high as your valour. For when life demands that you compromise to match it, you shall answer with an inner illuminating brilliance that can never be smothered. Where a hundred thousand men say the only solution is violence, you are the one woman who can reach a tyrant's heart. Meek and strong alike shall look to you for moral guidance. Heal wounds the eye cannot see. Sway the most despicable back toward the light. Take your small flickering candle of love; set the world ablaze. Lvl 0: {Affective Radiance}: Sense other people/creatures' desires and emotional attachments. Influence the way they feel about things.
The test of Purity is possibly the fact that despite everything Lily still maintains her desire to be a hero and do good and simple wonder with the world. She's been avoiding becoming bitter and jaded despite the world trying very hard to do so.
The test of Charity and Valour are both likely interconnected to an extent: The main thing would have been choosing to ride to Harrumph instead of bunkering up to save lives. Following up with throwing herself in with helping the Watch despite the risks to herself. Probably more Valour than Charity though.
Choosing to go check in on Myah though? That's just pure Charity. There was no reason to do that beyond Lilly was worried about her.
I do not think its a coincidence that Shine my Gentle Heart showed up at the first opportunity after choosing to do that.
So I was thinking a bit about how Mana healing is always associated with mana-curses. Now, we may not REALLY get the answer until we get a Mana Ethos for ourselves, but I had a few thoughts (rampant speculation alert):
-Inefficiency – If a mage has a perfect understanding of human biology (germ theory, nervous system, etc.), then they would be able to eventually formulate a perfect spell to target one specific malady at a time without incurring a mana-curse. Most mages (if not all) DON'T have a perfect understanding of biology, let alone the "coding language" required for such precise work. As such, the mana-curse is the price of the "quick and dirty" solution that isn't fully calculated out.
-Debt – For most other Sources, their energy reserves are like a fuel tank: once it's empty, you simply can't use it anymore. Mana spells, on the other hand, have the capacity to "incur debt" in the form of curses, allowing a desperate mage to cast a spell even when they don't have the reserves remaining to cast it regularly. The main issue for healing spells is that the "debt" must be paid by the person receiving the healing, and if that person has no Mana of their own, then there is no other recourse but to accept the debt in full.
-Jailbreaking – Whatever Spirit gave themselves up to have Mana implemented on the Melange Layer gave absolutely no thought to designing equations regarding healing the human body. Every Mana healing spell that humans have created is a workaround: technically viable within the framework of Mana equations, but horrendously unoptimized. The greatest breakthrough amongst human mages was figuring out how to TARGET specific costs for healing; before that it was a dice roll on whether the cure would be worse than the disease.
-Separate System – Healing WAS considered during Mana's creation, but was deliberately designed to work off separate rules from other types of spells, possibly as an alternative to the "perfect calculations" proposed under Inefficiency.
I don't think anyone has a chance of picking out the second game. It's just so much more unfair, leftfield and arbitrarily cruel than the first one was. Let's just say that the Child is a fan of giving an underdog a second chance.
...I have no idea why I am connecting all this in my head but I keep thinking of Big!Evie's plan to turn Lilly into Mindstate!Lilly. A second shot at pulling this off? On Micah somehow to just be needlessly cruel?
Evie's injured state is compared to that of a trampled dog Lilly once saw and the post in question that contains the hints to the game also talks about unsuited temperaments.
As for how this would remotely be possible, I have no idea. (Heal Evie so well we bring back big!Evie for the salty runback but because [Bedrock] stopped her last time she goes more indirect via [Dream] to take a hostage?) I'm still not done with my re-read LOL. Almost though!
Edit: Further into my reread and I kinda want to say forget everything I said above I am dumb.
My only two questions: is Captain Martin's arm still a heap of Lovecraftian linguini, and can I get confirmation that Martin and the other four are the only survivors out of all of the Watchmen we've encountered thus far?
My only two questions: is Captain Martin's arm still a heap of Lovecraftian linguini, and can I get confirmation that Martin and the other four are the only survivors out of all of the Watchmen we've encountered thus far?
We have actually met a lot of watch men, if not all of them if we also consider the interaction with Lilly's powers as valid, but we didn't get to know their names.
Finished my reread as well! My (probably) final guess at what the game is is that NULLERROR adds a kind of time attack function to the dungeon, making it a race against time. Perhaps somehow restoring its ability to send a wave of corrupted Alphas back to its initial state and requiring Lilly to suppress it before they can overrun Harmuph (and perhaps more specifically re-target her family.) Like imagine a scenario where Lilly begins her suppression attempt and NULLERROR announces (or doesn't, because that'd be the jerk move) that once she began he re-launched the invasion and the only way to stop it is to suppress the dungeon before they cause damage that can't be undone since it's not like Lilly could turn around and stop the whole thing herself and the Watch is depleted now.
We have actually met a lot of watch men, if not all of them if we also consider the interaction with Lilly's powers as valid, but we didn't get to know their names.
...I had a passing thought, and I want to put it out there: Is the second game that there is no second game? Or rather, that there could not have been such a thing without our agreeing to it?
That the thing that was maximally cruel to us was giving us time to anticipate what will come, and - being able to say that we didn't stop it because we consented.
