Staggering to your feet, you turn your gaze to Heklr as he stands silhouetted by the rising sun. The fingers of fate's keepers work their magic as the established pattern falls away for the new writer's hand. Heklr takes a step, sure of the status of the grass beneath his feet, yet it was not to be the case. Morning dew coats every blade of grass, turning what was once a stable surface to a frictionless nightmare.
The skin of a bear clings to your shoulders as you drive Sagaseeker forward. His strength coats his blade in thunder and lighting as you add your voice to the roar. Stomping with all your might, your boot finds the surface of the grass to be made of hickory as Careful-Stepper helps you along.
As Heklr collapses against the ground, Sagaseeker's shining point does the impossible. He slides through skin and slips through bone as he finds a home in a God's beating heart.
Heklr freezes as the fingers of fate's keepers work once more. Threads are cut as his fate is spun anew. As Sagaseeker pulls free, Heklr falls flat on his back as his last breath leaves his lungs. His death blow dealt, there's nothing his brothers can do but turn and run away.
Well, this plan has experienced significant and immediate overhaul. The first thing we do is our needed trip. W'll see how much crew we dig up for that. We also agreed to initiate Abjorn, which seems right as soon as he's literate and can read the instruction manual we wrote. And we finally have Blackhand back for that long-delayed trip to the Hading.
The Training handles all the non-Fylgja stuff we're gonna want to raise immediately, I think...we'll have a better read on how much we'll need to put into Fylgja once we actually invest all our assorted Trip XP into it.
The Seeress Questions have been updated only slightly from the pre-planned ones, and we could easily shift those around if people have better ideas. The Alloy Research is also basically a placeholder if nobody comes up with anything better.
But, Research and Seeress Questions aside, here is a plan:
[X] Plan Tying Up Loose Ends
-[X] Take A Trip
--[X] Jurgdby and then to finish things up on our job for Johannes
-[X] [Social] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Tell Asva and anyone else in our family who doesn't know about Dorri's treachery the truth via Eyespeech while taking serious precautions.
--[X] We will coordinate with Sten and Solrun to make our family conference on this subject as private as physically and magically possible (including using runes found here if viable).
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Abjorn
--[X] Odr Initiation, very gradually, using our new spell
-[X] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
--[X] The Hading!
---[X] (Optional) Try to find the Heart of the Hading
Training:
-[X] (Seeress) Learn seidr with the Seeress (Only available during Summer)
--[X] Ask Solrun to explain the various uses a seeress has for a Fylgja. We feel like we're missing something fundamental here having had most of our Fylgja education from warriors.
--[X] Ask Solrun about the Fylgja of other people in the valley with revealed ones, our main interest iis in Dorri's family and Framarr's ant thing in particular, but we'd ask abbout it as part of other stuff just in case
--[X] Check with Solrun if our idea for the bridge and burl is on the right track.
--[X] Learn more about privacy warding...we want the best and most comprehensive privy wards possible and her help in making those
--[X] Learn more elemental seidr like Unending Time In The Sun
--[X] How can I help someone through a nidheart, especially a more mundane one without a spirit involved...is there some spell for that, and if not do you have any advice?
-[X] (Research)
--[X] Plant a Drill-Well Tuber and a Blood Seeking Petal in our Soulscape, feed each 3 Odr and see what happens
--[X] Examine the borders of our soulscape and how this has effected them, specifically looking at the new Gotland section – 1 Research
--[X] Attempt feeding our spirits in our soulscape actual food, both Odr grown and not (should cost 3 Odr and 1 Food if we use 3 of each)...see if different varieties have different effects (ie: feeding one all Odr-grown plants, another all meat, a third all mundane plants, and so on) – 1 Research
--[X] Try and identify the traits of the following items and how they work: The vial of blood, the weird stick thing (pen?), the weird teeth necklace, the false eye, the strange substance from the Underhouse, the katana – 5 Research
---[X] Use Identify Concept and Sundersight alike to help with this
--[X] Teach Abjorn how to read – 3 Research
--[X] Try and Alloy Fight of Our Life and Stoker State – 1 Research
--[X] Try and Alloy Stoker State, Glima, and Fang together to see if we can Alloy three things – 1 Research
-[X] (Training) Hamr (511 xp to rank up)
--[X] Train Pierce 8xp (4xp)
--[X] Train Slash 8xp (4xp)
--[X] Train Shoot 8xp (4xp)
--[X] Train a Slash or Stoker State Trick (preferably the latter) to attack everyone within reach with a sweeping slash 4xp (2xp)
--[X] Train a 'Hamstring Slash' Trick for the Slash skill to slice hamstrings and hobble a foe 4xp (2xp)
-[X] (Training) Hugr (256 xp to rank up)
--[X] Train Scouting 8xp (4 xp)
--[X] Train Wordplay 16xp (8xp)
--[X] Train Semi-Halting Vortex 16xp (8xp)
--[X] Train Campfire 60 xp (15xp)
--[X] Train a Gale Trick to use wind to keep people trapped in our vicinity by pulling them toward us, making us the center of a vortex 3xp
--[X] Train Flamecalling 8xp (2xp)
--[X] Train a Sunfire Trick for melee attacks 4 xp (1xp)
--[X] Train a Sunfire Trick for single-target ranged attacks (ideally in the form of a thrown spear) 4 xp (1xp)
--[X] Train a Sunfire Trick for wide scale area attacks (ideally creates an orb that resembles that made by Unending Time In The Sun...until it explodes) 4 xp (1xp)
--[X] Train an Atgeir Hugareida Trick for directly attacking 3xp
--[X] Train a social Trick for detecting lies and deceit 3xp
--[X] Train a Weave Seidr Spell variant on Weighed On The Scales to detect deception 6 xp
-[X] (Work Dice Usage)
--[X] Buildings, Resources, and Livestock: 2 Living Space, 1 Storage, 0 Workshop, otherwise maxed out (58 Total)
--[X] Planting: Plant seeds for 1 Hearthberry, 1 Sealwood, 1 Falling Moss, 1 Drill-Well Tuber, and 1 Blood-Seeking Petal, somewhere not immediately obvious but secure and relatively sheltered from weather (5 Total)
--[X] Construction: 10 towards Workshop Upgrade (10 Total)
--[X] Crafting: Craft 15 Basic Cups out of Restful Clay, and distribute them to our retainers and adult family members (1 each) for emergencies (15 Total)
--[X] Conversion: Spend for 13 Research Dice (26 Total)
-[X](Shapeshifting Slots)
--[X] Reassign two slots from Dense Muscles and Target-Tracking Eyes to Sharpened Senses
-[X](Alloy Slots)
--[X] Assign Fight of Our Lives to our empty slot
-[X](Assign Hugareida Levels)
--[X]Assign 2 Sunfire Levels to Dice
--[X]Assign 2 Atgeir Levels to Instances
-[X](Fylgja Capacity)
--[X] Remove one shield, assign 2 Restful Clay Cups full of water to Fylgja Capacity
-[X](Standing Orders)
--[X] Assign a Standing Order to provide us with a full Restful Clay cup when needed.
-[X] (Incidentals)
--[X] Adding Taafl Board Capacity Gains to: Sigurdr, Asgeirr,
--[X] Receiving Metal from Dwarves: 24 oz Forged Iron, 6 oz Storm Iron
--[X] Invite Kare Wolf-Seek, Ingolf Ulfsson, and Eyesteinn Egilsson to joinour retainers (hopefully with oaths sworn)
EDIT: Forgot we're gonna need to tell Asva about Dorri while at home...action adjusted. Fiddled with Solrun question to ask about extra privacy measures, and added an anti-deception trick, which involved rearranging the xp purchases a little.
EDIT2: Added questions about Dorri's families Fylgja...well, people in the Hading in general, really.
EDIT3: Added planting a bunch of seeds, both in our soul and elsewhere.
EDIT4: Added the Restful Clay thing, and Alloy, shapeshift, and Hugareida allocations.
EDIT5: Added spell for lie detection as well.
I think we still wanna put some work dice into the tournament?
there is also trying to forge something from captured experience, and putting one in our soulscape. and now that we have Hamr 10 we might be able to do that infusion research?
next turn, maybe we can start our needlework class with Asva?
I think we're putting off the tournament given the necessity of a second trip here. We'll still do it, but next year rather than this one. We could theoretically do it this year, but it'd be next turn, likely mean we couldn't investigate the items we're investigating or make the Restful Clay Cups, and just generally add to how hectic this Summer has been...I think it can wait a bit.
there is also trying to forge something from captured experience, and putting one in our soulscape. and now that we have Hamr 10 we might be able to do that infusion research?
All crafting benefits from waiting a round until we can finish upgrading our Workshop. If we weren't gonna do that next round it might not be worth waiting, but I think we are.
Holy shit, i go to sleep and the morning after i check the Quest and find that Halla killed a God.
I was kind of worried when i saw the Jotnars appear, it very much felt like a "rocks fall everyone dies" moment. But i was pleasantly surprised.
Shame we could't take the trip back, but we are going to recruit people and make another trip soon anyway.
I am not sure how many people will actualy want to come with us this time. I mean, we made two journeys and for two times we picked a fight with Jotnars. Feels like traveling with us would be extremely dangerous.
Absalom Careful-Stepper stands serene as five Jotnar bare their weapons and roar their rage. The staff of hickory in his hand hums with a calm certainty as Heklr takes the first swing. His axe leaves the air a sobbing mess as it descends upon the comparatively tiny man. The power radiating with every rampant motion denies the world its right to exists, a strike meant to sever both life from man and stability from reality.
Like a bird landing on a branch, however, the length of good, strong hickory darts into action mere moments before the axe connects with Absalom's skull. Wood meets iron and finds it wanting as Absalom hops and catches Heklr's axe on his staff. Twirling about, he presses a foot against an empty patch of ground as his staff flicks down, slips around Heklr's bootstrap, and upends him on the spot.
Heklr hits the ground with a heavy whomp as you struggle to follow the action past that point. Every motion perfectly precise and calculated, Careful-Stepper darts across the battlefield as he catches every single blow on the pristine, gnarled end of his hickory staff.
What stands out, though, is that Careful-Stepper never takes advantage of any opportunity that presents itself. He refuses to attack, to deal damage to his enemies as he flows over the ground like a gentle stream does the land. Not only does he not attack, but he never dodges either. Whenever a blow would've struck the grass, that same length of hickory is there to meet it.
"Halla!" Abjorn's shout draws you from your open-mouthed awe as you return to the present. Shaking your head free of stupor, you turn your attention to where your husband and the rest make their way down the path most took to reach the peak. The weak covered by the shields of the strong, they move as a pack as they head towards the beached ship.
Abjorn waves wildly at you as Drifa wrestles Eyvor away from his leg, fearful tears streaming down her face. With sword in trembling hand, his eyes beg for you to come with him. As you start towards him, a woman's voice whispers in the back of your head. It's familiar, yet alien. Close, yet distant. Warm, yet cold. A collection of impossibilities, the woman's words stop you in your tracks.
What is your strength for, O' Daughter of Ash, if not this?
Careful-Stepper won't win, not as long as he keeps declining offense. Eventually, the Jotnar will wear him down and deal him his death blow. Though you've known him for but a bare few minutes, he was already willing to battle five Jotnar so that you and yours could go free.
There comes a time in every life where you must make a choice that will define your entire existence. Today, as you look your husband in the eye, you make yours.
Careful-Stepper needs help. He needs someone to swing for him.
He needs you.
'Attagirl,' Blackhand's pride fills your heart with steely resolve as you ignore the fear in the hearts of all you love, grip Sagaseeker tight, and turn around.
You enter the fight with little fanfare as you catch a Jotun on an unguarded shoulder. Lulled into a false sense of security by Absalom refusing to attack, the Jotun makes no attempt to block your sudden swing as Sagaseeker connects with Jotun flesh. Unfortunately, despite the strength of the blow, it fails to even so much as depress his skin let alone break it!
The Jotun laughs and goes to backhand you away like you were an insect. His fist blurs towards your face at speeds you can barely even comprehend let alone react to! But even as your death approaches, it fails to make contact as a familiar length of hickory hovers before you. The strike had the weight of a mountain behind it, yet Careful-Stepper balances it on the end of his staff like it was the lightest feather in all of existence.
A pair of gentle eyes meets yours as Absalom greets you with a welcoming nod. As the corners of his lips hug his cheeks in a soft smile, you know that he won't let you come to harm. With Absalom guarding you, you're free to put your all into every strike.
The battle lasts for an eternity with neither side making progress. Though you connect blows, you struggle to do anything more than leave bruises in your wake. The skin of the Jotnar is just too strong for you to penetrate! It's like Sagaseeker lacks an edg-
You blink as an idea trickles in from the back of your mind, a lesson taught many years ago. The words of Blackhand fills your ears as you draw back for one, final strike. When your weapon fails to bite, bash your foe over the head with a rock.
Scooping a rock up from the ground, you pour all you have into this attack. Every drop of orthstirr, every splash of odr, every ounce of strength in your heart's roaring furnace, all of it! Every last bit! It all floods to your arm as you leap into the fray once more.
The rock collides with Heklr's skull hard enough to shatter into dust. Heklr's head snaps back as blood sprays out and he stumbles back a half-step. For a moment, your heart surges as he sways from side-to-side. There, that's the opportunity that Careful-Stepper's been waiting for! It has to be!
And yet, as Heklr shakes his head free of the stupor, Careful-Stepper makes no move to capitalize. You watch in horror as he merely keeps the Jotnar from landing blows on you, him, or the ground. You put everything you had into that strike, every Aspect in your soul, yet it was for nothing.
Spent, you collapse to your knees as Sagaseeker slips free of your fingers. Was this it? Was this the perfect ending you'd been promised? Was your trust misplaced?
No, it wasn't.
A warm purring reaches your ears as Sagaseeker nuzzles your hand. Your fingers twitch as your husband's power surges through your limbs, his Aspects giving you just enough strength for one, final blow.
Staggering to your feet, you turn your gaze to Heklr as he stands silhouetted by the rising sun. The fingers of fate's keepers work their magic as the established pattern falls away for the new writer's hand. Heklr takes a step, sure of the status of the grass beneath his feet, yet it was not to be the case. Morning dew coats every blade of grass, turning what was once a stable surface to a frictionless nightmare.
The skin of a bear clings to your shoulders as you drive Sagaseeker forward. His strength coats his blade in thunder and lighting as you add your voice to the roar. Stomping with all your might, your boot finds the surface of the grass to be made of hickory as Careful-Stepper helps you along.
As Heklr collapses against the ground, Sagaseeker's shining point does the impossible. He slides through skin and slips through bone as he finds a home in a God's beating heart.
Heklr freezes as the fingers of fate's keepers work once more. Threads are cut as his fate is spun anew. As Sagaseeker pulls free, Heklr falls flat on his back as his last breath leaves his lungs. His death blow dealt, there's nothing his brothers can do but turn and run away.
Sagaseeker slips free of your limp fingers as you collapse against the ground. Eyes turned towards the heavens, the last thing you see before darkness claims you is the smiling face of Absalom as he plucks the axe from your belt.
0~0~0
Your eyes flicker open to a familiar roof above and a familiar warmth to your side. Looking to the right, you find your Husband snoozing peacefully with his arms wrapped around you, your bed holding the both of you tight.
Beyond the closed doors of the sleeping closet, you heart the sounds of birds chirping and the denizens of your home start to stir. Extracting yourself from Abjorn's arms, you slip a pillow between his grasping hands as he snuggles up again. Unlatching the door, you greet the warm glow of the rising dawn as it peeks through your windows.
You're home, though that seems impossible given what just happened. Gotland... The pang of loss nearly drives you to tears, but you master yourself with a surge of ice-cold will. Gotland is gone, but despite that absolute fact, it isn't quite true.
For, you see, your soulscape now plays home to a sea and an all-too-familiar island. The valley of your soul opens up to greet the newly acquired territory as your soul grows yet again.
Taking a deep breath, you resolve to figure this all out after breakfast is made. In the meantime, you can do a quick inventory of-
...In the place Thievesbane normally sits on your wall, you find a note scrawled in runes on paper.
Thank you for finding my axe. I made sure to return you and yours home safe and sound, but that isn't near enough of a repayment for what you've done for me. Call for me and I will come -Absalom
'Well, damn,' Blackhand mutters as you snort.
(+100 Orthstirr)
(+1 Drengskapr)
(Sagaseeker has bathed in Godly Blood!)
(Thievesbane has been delivered to its rightful owner!)
(Your Soulscape has expanded!)
(Heroic Feat: The Slaying of Heklr! +9 Orthstirr a year!)
(Muna: Gotland's Call! Though you won't ever be able to return to Gotland, you still carry a piece of it in your soul. Expands your Soulscape to include a facsimile of Gotland)
0~0~0
Personal (Pick 2/3, if no Exploration is picked. 1 Free Social):
[ ] (Here, Kitty-Kitty) Attempt to make friends with the skogtatt
-[ ] (Write in) How do you go about this?
[ ] (Violent) Pick a fight or spar with... (Sparring with people reveals a summery of their character sheets)
-[ ] Spar with Abjorn, your husband
-[ ] Spar with Stigmar
-[ ] Someone else (Write in)
[ ] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
[ ] (Shopping) Ask Abjorn to buy something for you (Write in) (Can only be used to buy or sell things you are already aware of and cannot haggle)
[ ] (Court) Send Abjorn to make a case at the Thing (Write in)
[ ] (Crafting) Try to make something (Write in) (Hugr+Some kind of crafting skill)
-[ ] (Optional) Focus on repairing something (Write in)
[ ] (Poetry) Try to realize an Inspiration (Write in one of your Inspirations)
0~0~0
Exploration/Travel (Pick 1 or none):
[ ] (Visit) Go visit... (1 Left)
-[ ] The Witch... even though she's dead
-[ ] Asvir!
--[ ] (Optional) Attend the Thing
-[ ] Buriby, Osborn's Farm
-[ ] Glebby, Sverre's Farm
-[ ] Hasviby, Hasvir's Farm
-[ ] Halfdanby, Halfdan's Farm
-[ ] Jurgen's Cave
[ ] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
-[ ] The fields!
--[ ] (Optional) Send your fylgja in your place (Does not cost an action)
-[ ] The Hading!
--[ ] (Optional) Send your fylgja in your place (Does not cost an action)
--[ ] (Optional) Try to find the Heart of the Hading
-[ ] The hills!
--[ ] (Optional) Send your fylgja in your place (Does not cost an action)
--[ ] (Optional) Range further from your home
0~0~0
Training: You have 71 XP to spend as you see fit.
[ ] (Research) Try to figure out how things work (Write in)
[ ] (Seeress) Learn seidr with the Seeress (Only available during Summer)
-[ ] Write in up to 3 things to request of her
[ ] (Drifa) Teach Drifa some of your tricks (Write in)
[ ] (Blackhand) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Hamr (511 XP to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hamr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Hugr (256 XP to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hugr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Fylgja (256 XP to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a fylgja skill or trick (Write in)
0~0~0
Orthstirr Available: 1478
How do you want to use your orthstirr? You can turn on passive tricks here. (Leaving this blank is assumed to be boosting all your stats to max)
[ ] (Orthstirr Usage) (Write in) (Optional)
0~0~0
Fylgja Capacity: 14/15
Do you want to withdraw or deposit anything in your fylgja?
[ ] Write in (Optional)
0~0~0
Equipment/Capacity/Shapeshifting/Alloy/Pocket/Whatever Management
What do you want to have equipped on your person, in your capacity, or for your shapeshifting? Leaving this blank means that no changes are made.
[ ] Write in (Optional)
0~0~0
Property Management: You have 114 Work Dice Available
How do you want to use them? (Leaving this blank is assumed to be the same as last turn)
[ ] Write in (Optional)
Something felt wrong to me with running away and leaving Absalom to fight our battle for us, as much as we were hilariously outmatched here, and this resolution feels a million times better.
Thank you IF, and thanks to everyone for being brave and taking a leap of faith here.
It'll be better, I think, to just do a quick smash and grab without the whole family this time. Just a quick stop-over in Agder to drop our excess cargo and then high speed round trip.
I am not sure how many people will actualy want to come with us this time. I mean, we made two journeys and for two times we picked a fight with Jotnars. Feels like traveling with us would be extremely dangerous.
Luckily, we don't need nearly as many people as we had on the first trip...we'd take them, be we only need, like, 1/3 of the non-retainer people who showed up last time to still be in to hit minimum numbers. I'm pretty sure we can get that many people. Like, the Jotun are gonna scare some folk off, no doubt, but not all that many...these are Norsemen, after all.
Yeah, we need to get that done...it's probably less than a two week trip all told once we unload our healing clay in Jurgdby. We may also be able to pick up some more Restful Clay in Denmark on our way back for extra trade.
We have no idea. On the other hand, if they want to make it a family thing and escalate after the Nornir weighed in with their opinion on the matter, then our Great Uncle Thor might stick his hand in. That would have much the same results for them that them attacking us directly would for us, only worse. Because Thor.
We might want to send a few prayers his way to see if we can help that outcome come about, or get a threat to store up just in case. Like, being able to say "Thor said he'd avenge us if you assholes killed us." is a hell of a threat.
We'll need to do something about that. Dunno exactly what, but something. I mean, as wabbitking notes they don't say it to his face, but we need to arrange something public and terrifying for him to do...
One suggestion! I think we should move forward on the parent style for TSS. We have a couple good backstory leads now, but I think we should press ahead on actually unlocking the practical aspects on a physical level, which I think we can do. Something like:
[X] Meditate and practice on the parent Style of Time Stands Still. Our goal is to develop a core movement enhancement technique to serve as a foundation for the rest of the Style, similar to how Stoked Dice function for Stoker State. Using our extensive practice with breathing exercises and our recent experience watching Careful-Stepper, we will work out how to use our carefully rationed breath and integrate "hops" of Stopped Time into our ordinary movements and attacks, making us faster and much more difficult to predict as we appear to stutter in and out of time. We will call this... Fast-Stepping.
I'm deliberately going for a simple, unassuming name suggestion because I think this much better matches the format we've seen for the names of powerful techniques and people. Also, it quite deliberately evokes the name of Careful-Stepper and draws on our experience watching him fight - a martial arts trope as old as time and good to take advantage of.
I will put one Reward Dice towards this as a research action if you stick it in the plan.
That's not been established for sure yet, although it's definitely plausible at this point. Either way, we discovered this on our own, there's no reason we can't make it our own. Everything we know about how Norse Cultivation works predicts it'll be stronger if we stand on our own two feet.
To be clear, I'm not averse to doing more research and perhaps visiting Bornholm to learn more. But there's no reason this can't add to a strong foundation we've built ourselves. We don't need someone else to show us how to use our breath to phase in and out of Stopped Time - this is something Halla has already done herself.
That's not been established for sure yet, although it's definitely plausible at this point. Either way, we discovered this on our own, there's no reason we can't make it our own. Everything we know about how Norse Cultivation works predicts it'll be stronger if we stand on our own two feet.
To be clear, I'm not averse to doing more research and perhaps visiting Bornholm to learn more. But there's no reason this can't add to a strong foundation we've built ourselves. We don't need someone else to show us how to use our breath to phase in and out of Stopped Time - this is something Halla has already done herself.
How can we make it be ours when we already inherited it and are just trying to figure out how our inheritance works? The situation is basically the same as with the Stoker State, minus a teacher.
What I mean to say is, I don't expect any difference in the 'strength' of the final style, whether we learn it ourselves, or get someone to actually teach us the style or like. I don't even think you can affect the 'strength' of a martial style in this manner.
All crafting benefits from waiting a round until we can finish upgrading our Workshop. If we weren't gonna do that next round it might not be worth waiting, but I think we are.
How can we make it be ours when we already inherited it and are just trying to figure out how our inheritance works? The situation is basically the same as with the Stoker State, minus a teacher.
What I mean to say is, I don't expect any difference in the 'strength' of the final style, whether we learn it ourselves, or get someone to actually teach us the style or like. I don't even think you can affect the 'strength' of a martial style in this manner.
Even if that's true, there's no reason to hold off on learning it. We lose nothing and gain something cool faster, with the only risk being a research action.
However, we've seen a lot of evidence that innovation and making new things is better than just repeating the old, and all the strong people we've met seem to both use existing techniques, and develop their own which are authentically theirs. Styles must logically evolve over time, or they could never come into existence in the first place. The established tropes of Xianxia stress both that techniques are shaped by geniuses and powerful masters, and that building your own foundation is stronger than purely inherited power. Even if there's not a mechanical effect, - and there may not be - it's good vibes to work it out ourselves, if that makes sense? Imagine how impressed and surprised Ironjaw will be
Obviously I could be wrong here, but if we look at the Flame-Tending Blade, Time Stands Still, or the existence of a parent Style for TSS, my hunches have not been terrible here. It's like we're risking anything major to try.
@DeadmanwalkingXI I've been trying to fix my sleeping habits, and was asleep early last night.
That being said, my theory is roughly as such.
1) All Bridges have Names
2) A Burl is a growth on Trees, which are usually what are used to build Bridges.
3) You write the name of the Bridge in Runes on the Burl, and Color them. This effectively gives the Burl the same name as the Bridge, making them 'The Same Thing' as far as reality is concerned.
4) You put an Experience into the Burl, either one of Travelling or possibly one of removing the Burl from the tree. It might also be the experience of Standing on a Bridge.
5) When you break the Burl, you're now standing on the Bridge because that's how reality reconciles you breaking off a piece of the bridge when it was nowhere near.
Even if that's true, there's no reason to hold off on learning it. We lose nothing and gain something cool faster, with the only risk being a research action.
However, we've seen a lot of evidence that innovation and making new things is better than just repeating the old, and all the strong people we've met seem to both use existing techniques, and develop their own which are authentically theirs. Styles must logically evolve over time, or they could never come into existence in the first place. The established tropes of Xianxia stress both that techniques are shaped by geniuses and powerful masters, and that building your own foundation is stronger than purely inherited power. Even if there's not a mechanical effect, - and there may not be - it's good vibes to work it out ourselves, if that makes sense? Imagine how impressed and surprised Ironjaw will be
Obviously I could be wrong here, but if we look at the Flame-Tending Blade, Time Stands Still, or the existence of a parent Style for TSS, my hunches have not been terrible here. It's like we're risking anything major to try.
I am not specifically arguing for or against the action to figure out TSS - Simply arguing against the idea that figuring it out in an original manner would necessarily improve the style.
To be clear, my expectation of trying to develop a martial style based on observing what Careful-Stepper did would yield a style congruent to Careful-Stepper (assuming we were successful), which wouldn't be TSS's style, but rather another one.
===
Speaking of which, compiling my and some other people's ideas:
Upgrade Stokestill Style with a Rewrite to make Standstill tricks Stoker Style Tricks?
///
My idea for Estonian Magic Crafting as converted to Norse:
1) Acquire an Experience
2) Sing that Experience as part of a Seidr/Skaldic spell (this spell MUST be in the form of poetry, and is ideally in a good singing tone - Or it's in full Skaldric format and we can do a full proper Poetry recital)
3) While doing 2), forge the item. Weave that experience in addition to Odr (and possibly our Orthstirr, sacrificing a tiny bit of it) as part of the item.
4) Finish off the item with a set of runes.
5) Additionally, try to ensure you, in mindset, intend to create a useful magic item.
The Experience, Runes and Skaldic/Seidr spell must all follow a theming, and absolutely must not conflict with each other.
///
Tentative name for the Seidr spell to detect deception: Raven's Unriddling?
///
Hugareida Inversion is still a very promising lead. I wonder if Alloying an Inverted Hugareida is notable different from an un-Alloyed one?
///
We can probably forcefully create a Ring Style.
I am not specifically arguing for or against the action to figure out TSS - Simply arguing against the idea that figuring it out in an original manner would necessarily improve the style.
To be clear, my expectation of trying to develop a martial style based on observing what Careful-Stepper did would yield a style congruent to Careful-Stepper (assuming we were successful), which wouldn't be TSS's style, but rather another one.
===
Entirely fair to note that maybe it won't. But I think based on general principle, trying to do new things that build on past experience/general martial arts tropes has usually not gone terribly, even when it (frequently) has not gone to plan. Arriving at a completely different Style as you suggest would be a pretty decent result.
I would like to point out we can't learn a style without a teacher. So we won't learn that style unless we learn from Ironjaw.
No idea how inheritance interacts with styles that aren't bloodline locked though, or how TSS got us the iron mountain connection tbh.... Like, that's the anchor if the style, i assume.
@Imperial Fister How do style inheritance work, what with Steinarr being alive, but not being qualified for it, not teaching it to us and it not being even ??? on our character sheet since the start, when we learned/made TSS.... Like, sure, Stroker State Style wasn't either, but that's anchored in our bloodline, so.... what, exactly going on here?
As for a style for/from TSS... yeah, i am not going into it again, we have different opinions on the matter.
With the TSS style, wouldn't Solrun know stuff about it as isn't Kolla (Aki's Wife/Solrun's Daughter) Bram Ironjaws' kid? So she might have some idea as it she probably would remember some of the ways Bram fought that were in the vein of teleporting/time bullshit. Assuming that they were together for long enough for her to see him fight.
Oh, right, I meant to ask: @Imperial Fister can we, perhaps with the aid of the Teaching Wand, do literacy classes for more than one person at a time at reduced costs (ie: less than 3 Research per person), and if so what are those reduced costs? I dunno for sure if we want to do that at the same time as Abjorn, but knowing the details would be good.
Also, while I'm asking, we already offered to unveil Fylgjas for our Retainers...is doing so free, or an action, or Work Dice or what? We're probably not putting in the expense this turn, but knowing seems good. I'm also guessing revisiting Trausti and Vagn (and new retainers) about the Infusion that Tryggr and Stigmar got (since it was not explode-y or otherwise an issue) would be a new action?
I'm not 100% sold on this working, but if you're investing a Reward Die you're investing a Reward Die so I'll throw it in. I'm pretty firmly convinced that this is an existing thing with an existing name and a spirit guarding it, so I'm against inserting naming it as a part of the action (could be offensive to the entity in question), so I'm leaving that part out...I'm pretty dubious we'll hit the point where that's relevant this turn anyway. We can name it ourselves when and if we get a Style and haven't already been told the name, but doing so now is premature and a tad presumptuous, I think, given what we've seen.
With the TSS style, wouldn't Solrun know stuff about it as isn't Kolla (Aki's Wife/Solrun's Daughter) Bram Ironjaws' kid? So she might have some idea as it she probably would remember some of the ways Bram fought that were in the vein of teleporting/time bullshit. Assuming that they were together for long enough for her to see him fight.
Very plausibly...not enough to teach us the Style, but there was originally a question about it in the plan...if we're continuing research we should definitely include that. I'll do so rather than the Elemental Seidr question. That goes with the combat seidr option thematically anyway...we'll do them next turn, barring weirdness.
Very plausibly...not enough to teach us the Style, but there was originally a question about it in the plan...if we're continuing research we should definitely include that.
Yeah, the main line of thinking was that it would give us a better outline than we currently have for what the hell the style does, and some ideas for various Tricks that are in it as learning moves is easier than making them from whole cloth
Yeah, the main line of thinking was that it would give us a better outline than we currently have for what the hell the style does, and some ideas for various Tricks that are in it as learning moves is easier than making them from whole cloth
Even when we do get rid of Dorri, I don't want to be his replacement. Halla has too much on her plate to handle running the place on top of everything else.
