I do intend to partially use that. I will not elaborate on the extent or other relevant mechanics lest people try to be "loud" or otherwise change from normal behavior in an attempt to push specific training plans. (In other words: Trying to game the bleedover won't work. Don't be a pain in my ass, people. )
Mostly the problem is that if we are given the choice of what to train we will inevitably attempt to train ways to train faster. I am unsure of this actually has any effect, but people act as if it does which ironically means that less useful training gets done in the end.
Blake's brief roommate was… less than thrilled, to say the least.
"This isn't because of that one Wizard, is it?" Cinzia asked anxiously. "That hardly happens very often at all, and it did happen so you should have a while before the next one."
"That's not how risks work," Blake sighed. "But I was already planning to leave before the incident. This was never meant to be more than a temporary job while I regained my balance."
Not that the voices seem to want to help with that. Blake was still recovering from the sudden intrusion into what was supposed to be a time of rest. If the voices had threatened Blake even the slightest amount, then she would be going straight to whatever the local exorcist-equivalent was. She would do her best to view the open offer as a positive until then. Planeswalking still might not be the most reliable method of escape, but Praying? That would work even if she was barely conscious, and she was unreasonably confident that they wouldn't hurt her. It was her enemies—or possibly everyone around her—who would be in danger.
"Is Wizard-work really that much better?" Cinzia wondered. "They're always going on and on and on about how much work training their magic is..."
"Meanwhile, you're in a job that involves frequent sexual harassment and balancing weights for much of the day," Blake dryly replied. "Difficulty is subjective. At least you'd get–"
Blake hesitated and thought about it. Magic was relatively easy for her, and anyone could become a Huntsman or Huntress with enough effort. She had no guarantee that magic wasn't rather more selective.
"Magic is easier for me than it is for most," Blake admitted, "so take what I say with a grain of salt. But as far as I know, Wizards have plenty of time for relaxation and downtime between high-paying jobs. I suspect their complaining about hard work might simply be in comparison to their usual lounging around. It's not as though raw power is the end-all of magic; the design and construction of Magic Tools sounds as though it could be rather lucrative. Customers frequently complain to you about their lives, don't they? That could provide plenty of ideas for Tools to make their lives easier.
"I'm not saying you should change careers; you seem much happier here than I could be. It's just an option to keep in mind once the local Guild is no longer Dark and the other criminal elements are dealt with."
The slightly glazed set of Cinzia's features made it difficult for Blake to know if the waitress had tuned out in the middle or was just trying to think. Blake gave her a couple seconds to think about it anyway. Blake should not have been surprised when Cinzia's eyes refocused on the ears atop Blake's head. The Faunus tried not to let them flatten; Cinzia might be human, but it wasn't as though she viewed the ears as bad.
"What about you?" Cinzia asked curiously. "What's your magic? I could use the extra poise even if I stay here, couldn't I?"
The Black of ambition.
Blake shrugged noncommittally.
"There's no name for what my traits are from, but I've heard it compared to Take Over magic. Someone fell over laughing when they thought I'd Taken Over a house cat, however, so that might not be the best one to pursue if you want people to take you seriously."
The Faunus glanced out a nearby window and looked out at the increasingly crowded streets. Much longer and she would have trouble even navigating the crowds in a timely fashion.
"You've been a good roommate this past week, and I do appreciate your respect for my personal boundaries. However, I really should be going. Take care of yourself, please, and be careful. I wouldn't be surprised if the local problems get worse before they get better."
Cinzia blinked and started to take a step toward Blake only to stop with a small pout.
"Am I still allowed to hug you goodbye, or is that one of those 'personal boundaries' things?"
Blake sighed and held out her arms in silent invitation. Really, they'd known each other for only a week. How attached could the other girl get? Blake was sorry to leave her behind, certainly, but that wasn't anything new. Forming and maintaining friendships was difficult when one moved around as much as Blake did. She was used to it.
Kitty, kitty, free to roam, Kitty, kitty, wants a home!
Elda hadn't been exaggerating when it came to the benefits of something as simple as a courier's satchel. Those who noticed Blake still stepped aside, but it seemed more out of respect for her time and possible deadlines. The distances involved were no longer the cautious chasms granted to other Wizards.
Still, Blake kept to the most crowded areas even if side-streets might be faster. She honestly couldn't say if this was the safest tactic for her, but it worked well enough; Blake was able to exit Pava and travel west without issues. Or at least, mostly without issues. An inconvenient fog appeared in the early afternoon and forced Blake to slow lest she collide with other people.
Still, it wasn't all bad. The extra water not only made it easier for her to manifest ice on command, but also provided the opportunity for her to directly condense and manipulate water. Hydrokinesis wasn't as rigid as Cryokinesis or the other Blue spells she'd been exposed to. If she made a Blue trail for the water to follow, then it would enthusiastically flow along the floating path, incorporate extra water from the mist along the way, and even drag lagging Blue past its original conclusion.
It didn't seem as though she could freeze only part of a floating stream, however. Such a command propagated as long as there was still Blue available to convert. Gravity promptly took over and forced newly-formed ice to shatter upon the uncaring ground.
Ultimately, the delays and clinging damp forced Blake to stop and set up camp mere hours from her destination. At least the forest she rested in provided both an opportunity for practice and plenty of available targets. Contrary to her expectations, however, it seemed as though draining life from plants wasn't simply a matter of pointing and shooting. Wild plant life was stiff. It was content with its original home and resisted her attempts to pry it away from underbrush and trees alike. Grass provided less resistance, but it also wasn't worth the trouble; it had too little lifeforce to be worth targeting.
The stiffness of drained plant lifeforce made it hard to use their essence for anything save infusions of vitality, and even that seemed focused on defense and energy. Hunting and draining a particularly unlucky squirrel-like rodent proved that such stubbornness didn't extend to allGreen targets: the fistful of lifeforce claimed from the rodent seemed nearly as versatile as raw Black mana. She almost wanted to say as versatile, but that didn't feel quite right. There had to be a reason that amoral mages preferred sacrificing sapient entities over unintelligent animals.
(Ability Improved: Drain Life [Rank 1 → 4])
(Ability Improved: Dark Vigor [Rank 3 → 4])
Blake's rest that night remained undisturbed by singing voices or premonitions of doom. It was strange and possibly even foolish, but Blake felt conflicted by the lack of follow-up. It might be nice to have something around to keep her company even if she might need to keep them on a tight leash.
Kitty, kitty, hear our glee, Kitty, kitty, we love thee!
At least the thread acting as their invitation still persisted. Waiting. She hoped they were prepared to do quite a bit of that; fleeting loneliness was no excuse for summoning something that she may or may not be able to banish. She refused to be the careless heroine who released a sealed evil through sheer negligence.
It wasn't hard to find the church acting as a meeting place for local Guild enthusiasts; Blake managed it within half an hour of her noon arrival. Unsurprisingly, the five seated around their parchment-laden table were all in their teenage years with conspicuously finer clothing than could be found on those who had to work for a living. Less pleasant was the discovery that they were all male. Blake took a deep breath, reminded herself that it was too late to hide her ears, and tried to look confident as she approached the table.
"Good afternoon," Blake greeted them. "A wizard named Nero sent me. He said you could fill me in on legal Magic Guilds that might be relatively open to new members?"
Those at the table blinked at Blake and visibly sized her up. A stick-thin, brown-haired boy about Blake's own age wrinkled his nose and was the first to reply.
"That's a bit constraining. I mean, there are plenty of unofficial Guilds which simply don't want to deal with the restrictions levied on registered Guilds. Treasure hunting Guilds, for example—most governments, Lyria's included, have a horrible tendency to confiscate 'national treasures' without even paying half of what they would be worth to a private collector. It's harder for them to threaten independent Guilds–"
"–Including for actual law enforcement, and half the so-called unofficial Guilds you adore are suspected of outright theft," finished a nearby redhead. "Or attacking other treasure hunters, destroying the original versions of wall-writings so that their rubbings are the only available copies, etcetera. No, I think she has the right idea—and on that note, what was your name again? I'm Giuseppe."
"Blake," the Faunus replied curtly. "And yes, stability is a priority for me. I plan to take occasional trips out of the area and don't wish to return to a Guild that's either been outlawed, or would have others viewing me as a criminal."
The other three at the table visibly lost interest and resumed whispering among themselves. Blake was left with the arguable Dark Guild apologist and Giuseppe himself.
"Mmm. That helps—ah, I'm Valter," said the apologist. "Anyway, I don't think anyone would object if I started with Lion's Pride; they're possibly one of the largest Guilds on the entire continent and contain a number of sub-factions easily large enough to form their own Guilds. You've got those seeking Lost Magic, paladins mostly motivated by altruism, battle junkies, explorers, treasure hunters, wealth-seekers, scholars, tutors, people just there for the companionship, etcetera. They're based in the capital and have a lot of work because of it, but that also means they complete a lot of work—the highest-paying jobs are likely to be snatched up by someone else long before you see them.
"They're a welcoming and forgiving lot, but that cuts both ways: people aren't really booted out for anything short of a significant law or ethical violation. Personality clashes or simple antagonism don't qualify as something even worth a warning, and that can get a bit unpleasant even with others willing to defend you. It actually isn't uncommon for a smaller group of friends to leave on good terms with Lion's Pride and form their own Guild elsewhere.
"If you want to get into a more exclusive and prestigious Guild at some point, I'd say they're a pretty good place to start. Other Guilds are happy to use Lion's Pride as a proving ground for unknown Wizards, and might extend offers if you impress them on a job or simply get a good enough rep."
"It's also easy to get stuck amid mediocrity," Giuseppe added. "Lion's Pride has some big names, yet there are so many members that they kinda congeal into this huge mass of people. The best Guilds don't really look for members; you have to come to them or catch their eye through luck. My advice would be to join Lion's Pride if you like what they might offer as a large unspecialized Guild. Don't join if you simply intend to join as a footstep toward someone else; that's a ticket to impatience and disappointment."
Giuseppe clasped his hands together and leaned forward.
"Which brings us to the specialty Guilds, beginning with the famous Liquid Horizon. Liquid Horizon is an exploratory Guild that's best exemplified by simple curiosity. They'll often uncover and learn Lost Magics, but many of the members are more interested in the motivations and history that led to the development of that magic—as well as the step which finally destroyed those ancients. You'd expect Liquid Horizon to have a high turnover rate, but they're actually surprisingly good at not dying. Still, I'd argue that their motivations aren't as important as the results: plenty of people interested in developing obscure, powerful branches of magic and willing to trade that knowledge among themselves.
"The name comes from their Guild Master's original magic, which reportedly makes distant objects look as though they're being viewed through a wobbling film of water. He's been unusually cagy about what it does or what he derived it from, though; the only confirmed aspect is how it affects a pret-ty wide area. Like, the size of a small town.
"Next is Sylph Symphony, which is the Guild for Artificers and other dedicated creators of Magic Tools. Their entrance tests are harsh, but they have a dedicated training program without any financial requirements for the first four days. Demonstrate that you won't waste their time during those four days and it'll continue to be free; otherwise, you get the boot. A lot of their members went through the program before joining up. They tend to get a bit pissy if you learn from them and then join a rival artificer's Guild, though. Other Wizard's Guilds, they're fine with—hells, they'll even teach current members of Wizard Guilds! Just not trade rivals.
"There's Phoenix Grave–"
"–which is pretty much just a monster-hunting Guild," Valter interrupted. "Kinda ruthless, would not recommend. Angel's Eye–"
"Oh, stop it," Giuseppe scoffed. "She's looking for an established Guild, not the subject of your fantasies."
"I'm not–" Valter began heatedly before stopping and taking a deep breath. "She asked us for information and I'm providing it. Sod off."
Valter gave Blake a sheepish smile and ignored his sullen compatriot.
"Angel's Eye is only four months old–"
"You would know the exact number of months," Giuseppe muttered.
"Did I interrupt you while you were telling her about the others? No? Then stop reveling in the sound of your own voice for just a few bloody minutes!"
"You interrupted just to start this tangent, actually, but go right ahead."
Valter deeply inhaled through his nose and pretended Giuseppe hadn't said anything.
"As I was saying: they're new. Still an entirely female Guild of some seven members last I checked, although they've said that's not a state they intend to enforce. Their gloriously feral angel did her best to scowl at people during that announcement, though, soooo I actually wouldn't count on tha—what is it now?"
"Oh, calm your tits," Giuseppe grumbled. "She's a Messenger, not an angel. Each and every angel was directly made by their respective gods—or absurdly powerful Wizards—and often go mad, die, or fixate on a similar duty upon leaving service. Messengers often look like angels, but they're really just humans who earned or stole enough divine power to assume an angel-like form. You're the Angel's Eye fanboy; you should know this."
Valter rolled his eyes and once again acted as though the other hadn't spoken.
"Three of the four founding members grew up in an orphanage maintained by the Goddess of Lost Children, Kallietrate," Valter continued, "although they left together after Raleigh literally stopped the hearts of some attacking bandits. Raleigh still argues that it wasn't technically death magic, but the villagers found Warlock texts hidden in her bedroom and were considering burning her with them. Raleigh, Leontia, and Myrrhine fled before that could come to pass.
"Two months later, they—actually, I should back up. Raleigh discarded all pretense of not being a Warlock once the Queen legalized the magics of death and undeath, and gleefully leaned into all the stereotypes as far as gloomy attire goes. She hasn't actually collaborated with any of the Warlocks crawling outta the woodwork as far as I know, though; she might buy books, but she doesn't really talk to anyone outside Angel's Eye. Maybe not anyone in the Guild either, I dunno.
"Isolde, their ang—their Messenger, is reportedly terrifying and basically the whole reason Angel's Eye haven't already been kidnapped or worse. She's refused to say which god or gods she gained her power from, but she called down a firestorm, wields greatswords and greatbows made from lightning, and can chill her surroundings to freezing levels when she's annoyed. Good money pegs her patron as one of the various Storm Gods to be replaced within the last few centuries. I'd say she's honestly the biggest obstacle to Angel's Eye gaining more members: she's been turning away a lot of people after just one discussion or spar. She clearly isn't looking for raw power since one of Angel's Eyes few post-founding members was a skittish, prepubescent Celestial Spirit summoner with only a single artificial key, but Isolde isn't telling anyone what she is looking for.
"Myrrhine, or the 'Angel's Princess,' is astoundingly good at detailed Transformation magic for someone without any formal training. She proved her worth as a master of disguise when they first freed Isolde; as far as combat goes, though, she's supposedly a bit helpless. She's been trying to imitate Isolde's abilities without any real luck. Myrrhine can manage the physical appearance just fine, but she can't even fly without Isolde's magic. She was getting the most, er, romantic offers of any Angel's Eye member—at least, she was until their Messenger finally snapped and declared that anyone wanting to share Myrrhine's bed would need to first beat Isolde in a fight. Only the incredibly stupid are still trying, and even they're generally smart enough to avoid the angry a—Messenger."
"Myrrhine has also been kidnapped four times in the last three months, and her captors were arrested each time," Giuseppe added dryly. "Usually within hours. There are rumors going around that she's doing it on purpose so Isolde can rescue her afterward."
"People are always going to look for an excuse to blame members of an all-female Guild or insist that they're in some scandalous web of relationships," Valter dismissed. "I really don't see why they can't just all be normal friends."
Personally, Blake had read too many romance novels to rule out some strange romantic motivation. People could conjure the most ridiculous schemes in the name of attracting the attention of their love interest. Blake was also impressed that nothing had gone horribly wrong yet: plenty of traffickers weren't motivated solely by money and could do some awful acts in the time between abduction and rescue. Unlike Blake, Myrrhine probably couldn't even count on the ability to rescue herself; the Faunus had previously been warned about magic-draining restraints. Aura might be excluded from that, but its intended target of magic most certainly was not.
"Myrrhine relentlessly flirted within minutes of rescue every single time," Giuseppe flatly remarked.
"Those are just rumors, might've been her way of coping anyway, and — no, I'm not arguing over this. Anyway, the last founding member is Leontia. She's supposedly been trying every magic she can possibly learn and hasn't really been getting any stronger due to the lack of focus. Her favorites have been been animal Take Over forms, which I bet you two could bond over, and Solid Script—that's turning written letters into what they describe, such as a flaming 'fire.'"
"'I'm not a fanboy,' he says, while gushing about each and every founding member."
"Shut up," Valter said automatically. "Anyway, the founders freed Isolde from an old stone temple which some Diabolists were using as a base. The bounty on them was high enough to qualify as S-class, on par with that of dragons, and—"
"S-class is actually a pretty wide category," Giuseppe interrupted. "It essentially means 'these things are so strong that even an assessment is stupidly dangerous.' I don't think it's fair to compare a fast-flying, magic-resistant force of death and destruction to a bunch of fragile humans backed up by demons far weaker than those currently fighting the army. Half the bounty was likely just for finding them."
Valter slumped, and Blake covered her mouth to suppress her own snickering. She could practically see the soul leaving his body.
"Anyway," Valter continued pointedly, "not a single one of the founders sustained worse than a few gashes. They built a Guildhall outside the town of Eeyrie, founded Angel's Eye, and haven't done much else in the time since then."
"And yet, they still have fanboys."
"Just shut up already!"
You suspect you may have exhausted their ability to be helpful without further direction.
[] Why recommend Angel's Eye if they've been denying applicants? You think this might only feed into the heated accusations of fanboy'ing regardless of any actual justification.
[] Are there any additional Guilds that they'd recommend actively avoiding?
[] Does Lion's Pride have infighting or other political nonsense among their different sub-factions?
[] Are there any moral Warlock Guilds around, or is that still thought to be an oxymoron?
[] Do they happen to know what the general reception for Warlocks has been? There's a big difference between 'legal' and 'accepted.'
[] Could they tell you anything about the sorts of entities who spout ominous poetry within dreams, or refer you to people who might know more?
-[] Admit that you're speaking from experience and are a little worried about it.
[X] Are there any additional Guilds that they'd recommend actively avoiding?
I think knowing the local baddies would help.
As far as guilds to join, Angel's Eye would be a fun trainwreck but personally Liquid Horizon would be cool. Exploration and delving weird magics, you know?
From the presentation, I don't see why Angel's Eye would be anything other than Blake's first choice. They even already have a warlock member, and are respected enough to get away with it. The biggest barrier there seems to me would be being declined membership. So...shape questions for her to make a fall back plan if they turn her down?
[X] Are there any additional Guilds that they'd recommend actively avoiding?
[X] Does Lion's Pride have infighting or other political nonsense among their different sub-factions?
Sylph Symphony is a good pick assuming that Blake's engineering abilities are up to standard. @Alivaril : Did she make her own weapon? Is she able to making other things that might be impressive?
[X] Does Lion's Pride have infighting or other political nonsense among their different sub-factions?
Personally I'm most interested in Liquid Horizon. But Angel's Eye seems the most close knit and likely to become friends with Blake and help her overcome her issues.
"Isolde, their ang—their Messenger, is reportedly terrifying and basically the whole reason Angel's Eye haven't already been kidnapped or worse. She's refused to say which god or gods she gained her power from, but she called down a firestorm, wields greatswords and greatbows made from lightning, and can chill her surroundings to freezing levels when she's annoyed. Good money pegs her patron as one of the various Storm Gods to be replaced within the last few centuries. I'd say she's honestly the biggest obstacle to Angel's Eye gaining more members: she's been turning away a lot of people after just one discussion or spar. She clearly isn't looking for raw power since one of Angel's Eyes few post-founding members was a skittish, prepubescent Celestial Spirit summoner with only a single artificial key, but Isolde isn't telling anyone what she is looking for.
She made it from standardized parts, yes. This world doesn't really have those yet, which might make things a bit awkward. However, that does still leave her with what she feels are respectable engineering skills, if greatly inferior to those possessed by a professional on Remnant.
[x] Are there any additional Guilds that they'd recommend actively avoiding?
[x] Does Lion's Pride have infighting or other political nonsense among their different sub-factions?
[x] Do they happen to know what the general reception for Warlocks has been? There's a big difference between 'legal' and 'accepted.'
I'm also mildly in favor of Angel's Eye, with the crafters as a close second, and taking their four-day course in any case as a definite. For the moment, though, these seem like the most useful questions to ask. Well, maybe the one about dream voices, but I'd expect she'd need to talk with a summoner or exorcist about that to get anything really useful.
Planeswalking still might not be the most reliable method of escape, but Praying? That would work even if she was barely conscious, and she was unreasonably confident that they wouldn't hurt her. It was her enemies—or possibly everyone around her—who would be in danger.
We likely want to know at least some sort of trick that we can reliable show off before we try out. Either how to making something good using local materials or some what to use our magic to help.
The black (possibly) demonic voices in our head continue to be friendly, helpful, and polite.
I say we talk to them as soon as possible.
anything else would just be rude.
We likely want to know at least some sort of trick that we can reliable show off before we try out. Either how to making something good using local materials or some what to use our magic to help.
We have pretty competent engineering skills already and a good talent for magic. It'd probably be more efficient to just straight dive into their training course than try to figure out a trick to impress them.
This is a problem, and we need info about it ASAP.
[X] Could they tell you anything about the sorts of entities who spout ominous poetry within dreams, or refer you to people who might know more?
-[X] Admit that you're speaking from experience and are a little worried about it.
[X] Could they tell you anything about the sorts of entities who spout ominous poetry within dreams, or refer you to people who might know more?
-[X] Admit that you're speaking from experience and are a little worried about it.
Well, with only Angel Eye getting that much detail, I am absolutely certain voters will not be biased towards them at all
In all seriousness, Lion's Pride seems too generic for my taste, and they're not worth going for as a stepping stone so they're out. Pheonix Grave hunt monsters, which doesn't matter to us besides maybe picking some skill up in that; not worth registering for.
Liquid Horizon and Sylph Symphony are the interesting ones. Sylph is worth going for even if it's just to take the test, and magic tools are definitely interesting. Liquid covers lost magic though, and the experience in dealing with and developing unfamiliar magic is something that will undoubtedly be useful to us, not to mention all the exotic magics we could find.
Something to possibly keep in mind about Sylph. Doesn't seem like guild choice is necessarily permanent either, so if something doesn't really work out we may have a choice to move on to the other.
I guess the main comparison between them is personal magic development vs magic tool development. Pros and cons both ways.
With that in mind,
[X] Can they go into more detail about Liquid Horizon and Sylph Symphony? Compare between them, benefits of joining and why would someone study lost magic over magic tools, or vice-versa.
[X] Are there any moral Warlock Guilds around, or is that still thought to be an oxymoron?
[X] Do they happen to know what the general reception for Warlocks has been? There's a big difference between 'legal' and 'accepted.'
I don't think some guild enthusiasts are going to know much about the voices in our head. Might just make them needlessly worry or give faulty conclusions.
I don't think some guild enthusiasts are going to know much about the voices in our head. Might just make them needlessly worry or give faulty conclusions.
)
] Start praying in public. What could possibly go wrong?
