Okay, so I should have closed this days ago, but, well, IRL intervened for most of it. But now...
Vote Closed.
That includes the alignment vote, btw. The poll is still open, though don't count on that continuing for much longer.
A brief note before covering the vote and such:
So I had a talk with my concept-beta and he pointed out that I wasn't playing the pen as an implement fully enough. Upon thinking on it, I decided that he was right, so there's a tiny retcon from the previous chapter, as well as some other changes on stuff you haven't run into yet.
[X] You cleared a lot of the air, but you still have a fair number of things to talk with Blake about. No. of votes: 4 readerboy7, silentspirals, Indivisible, TheAlec
-[X] Explore magic vs parahuman abilities, try to understand how it might be different instead of trying to dismiss alternate perspectives. Anything Blake wants to discuss immediately? No. of votes: 3 readerboy7, silentspirals, Indivisible
-[X] Broach the idea of using Shamanism to empower him. If Shamanism can create spirits, could he become something other than a vestige? No. of votes: 2 silentspirals, Indivisible
-[X] Explore magic vs parahuman abilities, try to understand how it might be different instead of trying to dismiss alternate perspectives. Anything Blake wants to discuss immediately? And check to see if your father could hear you talking to Blake from elsewhere in the house! No. of votes: 1 TheAlec
[X] Blake has a number of runes that he thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than he can help you train the spirits totally new runes. Help him figure out what they are and learn them. No. of votes: 3 Sasha, Ridiculously Average Guy, veekie
[X] Try to figure out more about your shamanism in general. No. of votes: 1 redzonejoe
[X] Take another look at the inside of your head, particularly at the parts changed with getting your pen. No. of votes: 2 readerboy7, Indivisible
Vote tally: ##### 3.21
[X] Be a rogue! Forget getting into fights, you can just use your power to make money! Actually, you know, there are a lot of ways to monetize this, based on what Blake's mentioned about shamanism. Beware lots of cape organizations coming to recruit or "recruit" you, though. No. of votes: 10 Irenicus, Sasha, Ridiculously Average Guy, dpara, silentspirals, readerboy7, esran, TheAlec, Enohthree, rooster
[X] Be a hero! Fight for Justice and Order and the Law! You could join the local government-sanctioned team for underaged capes, the Wards, which offers quite a lot of support for their members in exchange for a lot of oversight, or you could stay independent, being a legal vigilante with a lot less support but no oversight either. No. of votes: 8 veekie, ReaperofInterest, will408914, Indivisible, redzonejoe, wingstrike96, DOOMPOTATO, Bozwevial
[X] Be a villain! Nothing too destructive, but your dad could always use some more money around the house. It was your childhood dream to be a hero…but it's time you grew up. Besides, when has authority ever helped you out? No. of votes: 4 1986ctcel, tinkerbell, Frakir's brother, Anzer'ke
-[X]You've heard that a rogue with cloth based powers recently moved to Brockton Bay. Perhaps you should ask her what it's like to be a rogue (in disguise, of course). No. of votes: 1 Sasha
And the winner!
[X] Be a rogue! Forget getting into fights, you can just use your power to make money! Actually, you know, there are a lot of ways to monetize this, based on what Blake's mentioned about shamanism. Beware lots of cape organizations coming to recruit or "recruit" you, though. No. of votes: 10 Irenicus, Sasha, Ridiculously Average Guy, dpara, silentspirals, readerboy7, esran, TheAlec, Enohthree, rooster
[X] You cleared a lot of the air, but you still have a fair number of things to talk with Blake about. No. of votes: 4 readerboy7, silentspirals, Indivisible, TheAlec
-[X] Explore magic vs parahuman abilities, try to understand how it might be different instead of trying to dismiss alternate perspectives. Anything Blake wants to discuss immediately? No. of votes: 3 readerboy7, silentspirals, Indivisible
Congratz, this is now a Rogue Quest!
So the rest of the talk you would have gotten if the issues they had been bottling up hadn't been so volitile, and learning the runes Blake already knows and will work just fine.
The latter was something you guys were going to pick at some point no matter what, so I already started on that section: ~1.6k words in.
Quick note to @Indivisible : when you make a new post with the [X] inside, it ignores your older votes. In the future, just changing it inside your original post or reposting the entire vote would work better for the bot.
AN: Some changes to the Rune setup at the bottom of the chapter, just FYI. More organizational than anything else, though see the bottom for details on the Protection rune.
Also! All three sites now have threadmarks that easily shift from one to the next, so my manual buttons can skedaddle!
Introductions 1.7.1
You wake up the next day, and you feel pretty good. You're learning how your power works, even expanding it yesterday into something you can use yourself, and you planned out a day of experimentation and exploration last night. Even better, in a way, is the talk you and Blake had. It feels really good to get some of that stuff off of your chest, even if it had brought up memories you really don't like to think about away from school. But there's still more to talk about without revisiting the same topics.
That would be true even if you hadn't decided on what you were going to do with your powers, though you still want Blake's opinion on the matter. That topic is worth a conversation all on its own.
Speaking of, you need to pick something to talk with Blake about during the run. If he comes, of course. You'd like to take the time to discuss things, but as much as you don't like to admit it, you are way too breathless while jogging to hold a discussion. Since it doesn't make him breathe harder at all that you can tell, it makes more sense for Blake to just tell you about stuff while you go. You can gasp questions at him if needed. But you're not really sure what to talk about right now.
Hm. Something else to plan ahead of time?
Well, you want to talk to Blake again, and you don't want him thinking you already forgot what he said the last time. So why not ask him about his friends? He can't really remember many he made since he became a practitioner, or what he did with the friends he already had in that time, but he should be able to tell you plenty about them from before that.
Nodding to yourself, you get out of bed and dress for the run, slipping the n'kisi into your clothes before you leave your room. You go downstairs, but can't seem to find Blake in any of the downstairs windows, though your gaze does linger uncomfortably over the stack of bills on the living room coffee table.
You bite your lip, your thoughts returning to Blake. He is his own person, so he can go where he wants—though you still want him out of your room when you're sleeping—but if he's off elsewhere doing something when you wanted him to talk with you…well, that's fine too. Still, you should let him know that you want to talk with him, right? If he wants to go back to doing whatever he's doing, then he can, but you should let him know at least. You think.
You've never been very good at this kind of stuff.
You slip your hand under your sweater to rest it on the n'kisi. "Blake," you say, waiting to give him a chance to respond. That actually reminds you that you haven't tested the limits of this calling mechanism. Though that was pretty uncomfortable. Surely there was a better method for gathering his attention.
Actually, isn't Blake usually here by now?
"Hey," he says from the nearest house window, a moment after that thought crosses your mind. "What's up? Oh, running time again?"
"Yeah," you say, fidgeting in place a little. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"
"Oh, no," Blake says. "I was just doing more research into this world. It's been a while since I stopped to read a book, I could use a break anyway. Do you know that they don't have any helpfully packaged guides for people new to this dimension?"
You give a small smile in response to his joking exasperation, though it disappears when your next thought hits you. "That's probably because it's illegal."
Blake blinks at this. "Wait, what? Seriously?"
"Yeah," you nod seriously. "On Earth Aleph too. I think it's supposed to be more precautionary than anything else, to prevent against any precursors to invasion, given—well, given how humans tend to respond to finding new people and places to exploit."
"That's…shit, that's kind of terrible," Blake says, starting to pace in the windows. As always, it's a really strange effect, to see his disappear at the boundary of one reflection and appear instantly at the edge of another. "So we're going to hide that when we go public. Not that they should have the knowledge or power needed to actually keep me trapped, but still."
"I wouldn't be too certain even then," you caution him, worry creeping into your voice. "Tinkers are capable of the most amazing and varied technology. It's practically a truism that Tinkers can do anything if given enough time and resources."
Blake swears again, and his pacing begins growing faster before he suddenly stops. He's just…breathing deeply. Didn't he say he doesn't need to breathe? It doesn't look like he's hyperventilating.
"Blake," you say, trying to get his attention
His head snaps around to face you. "What?"
You recoil, just a bit, but it needs to be said. "We, we just don't have to tell people. It'll be fine. As long as we don't talk about it while we're out in costume, it should be fine."
Blake is still for a moment longer, then gives a single nod, nostrils flaring as he inhales, his nose crinkling a bit. "You're right. That's completely obvious, too. Sorry, I don't know why I was overreacting like that." He takes another deep breath. "You wanted to go on a run again, right?"
"Right."
"Okay," he says again, hands running over the sleeves of his sweater, tugging the cuffs near his wrists. "Let's get going then. Did you have a conversational topic in mind?"
"I…I was going to ask about your friends," you say, starting to walk out the door, pulling the n'kisi out as you went through the threshold.
"My—friends?" Blake says, his voice switching from the window to the mirror in your hand mid-sentence.
"Yeah," you say, shrugging self-consciously. "I know you—we couldn't find them when we looked, so maybe I'm poking a sore spot here, but I thought—I just wanted to know more about the, the people you call friends." The other people, you want to say, but hold off. Things have been going well, no need to push it, or accidentally push him away.
"Oh," he says, before falling silent.
"You don't have to," you say into the silence, finding yourself in the unusual position of actually filling it. "It was just an idea, you—"
"No," Blake thankfully cuts in. "I was just thinking that that was very thoughtful of you."
You angle the mirror in your hand away from your face a little so he can't see your flush.
"So, my friends. The first of my friends is Alexis. She…she saved me, on a lot of levels, during a really terrible time in my life. She…"
You come back from the jog feeling like you know Blake better as a person now. Hearing a little more of where he came from, the kinds of people he surrounded himself with, it tells you a little more about who he is, really.
It's a bit of a new way of thinking about things, but you think you like it.
Still, even with the warm feelings you have right now, you need to follow through with your plan. You decided last night that it's time to learn the runes that Blake knew, and nothing about this morning means you should change it. Nodding firmly to yourself, you finish getting dressed after your shower, sit at your desk, and whisk the spare pillowcase you got out of the linen closet off the n'kisi; the change in the amount of light shining into the mirror world would cue Blake to come in. It isn't perfect, since he has to be paying attention to see it, but at least it was something.
"Hey there," Blake says as he appears in the mirror. "So what's the plan for today?"
"I'd really like to learn some runes," you say without preamble. "I know I did the responsible thing yesterday, but I'm really itching to mess with this new power you helped me pick out."
"Okay," Blake says, a smile on his face. You can't help but smile back. "Let's learn some magic."
Well. That dings your smile a bit. But whatever, you're learning how to use your power better!
"So the first rune I have to teach you is the Unlock rune."
Your smile slips a little more. "Unlock? Opening locks?"
"Yes…" Blake says slowly.
"Like for breaking and entering?"
Blake rolls his eyes at you a little. "You can use it for that, true. Or to get into those abandoned warehouses like the one we experimented in."
You have to give him that one.
"Besides, the only time I remember using it was when I was being hunted by some enemies and needed to escape an alleyway. There are definitely bad forces out there, but this is shamanism. It's just power, how good or bad it is depends on how you use it."
"All right, all right," you grumble a bit. "So how does this one work?"
"If I remember correctly, it physically manipulates a lock's tumblers until they're in the unlocked position. It's roughly an hourglass shape, but with a circle at the middle of it." Blake does something outside of the frame of the mirror that you can see and holds up a picture between his first two fingers and thumb, the design clearly just drawn on a piece of paper. It's a little different from what you were expecting, which you are pretty sure is fine when it comes to runes; they're like horseshoes or hand grenades, there is such a thing as 'close enough,' since it's just the spirits recognizing what you're drawing, and everyone draws differently.
You stop absently twirling your pen and grab a piece of paper.
"Do you have any post-its?" Blake asks before you set pen to paper.
"Uh, no," you say. "Why?"
"Because the runes don't have to be large, and learning to make them small can be really helpful for placing them in unobtrusive places. The downside of having specific shapes for the spirits to recognize is that your enemies will be able to recognize them too, after enough time. Plus, it saves paper."
"Oh well," you say. "I'll just tear up the sheets of paper that I do have."
Once you finish, you copy the Unlock rune onto one of the paper fragments, using the Sight to watch the power flow from you into the rune. The rune glows lightly in your Sight. A number of different spirits gather in the rune as you draw it, including that mobile spirit you noticed dominating the mix with the Push rune, but they just sit there.
"Does this rune have a trigger too?"
"No," Blake says. "It's actually pretty uncommon to find runes with that kind of feature built in. Most of them go off about as soon as you finish writing them, more or less. Not that you have to worry about burning yourself with Fire runes or anything," he hastily throws in, "but they do go off quickly."
"Okay, so…the reason it's sitting there is that there aren't any locks to unlock?"
"Yup," he says. "You need to apply it to the lock you want it to open, or pretty close to it."
You look around, momentarily stymied in your search for a lock, until you remember the latch on your window. You're not allowed a lock on your door, but a lock on the window is just plain sense in this town. You walk over and press the slip of paper against the locked latch.
Immediately, the spirits in the rune flood out, almost entirely saturating the window's latch, the rest trailing a path to the rune. There's a brief moment of swirling activity in the Sight, and then the mobile spirits set themselves against the latch. Looking at the mundane parts of the world, you can see the latch slowly start to shift itself. The latch finishes opening just as the power from the rune runs out.
You reach out with a growing grin and open your previously locked window. You take a deep breath of the cool air, then close and relock the window, returning to business.
"The rune's power ran out just as the lock was undone. Is that intentional?"
"Yes," Blake replies. "Like a lot of runes with a specific and concrete goal, it's set so that the amount of power in the rune determines how fast something will be done, not whether or not it will be done. Though I'm pretty sure it is possible to give a rune too little power to actually accomplish anything."
"Hm…" you muse. There are ways that could be very useful, honestly. Still, you have more runes to learn. "So what's the next rune?"
"Come on," Blake chides, "there's still more to do with this one. You only wrote it out once. Do it a few more times at least, to help you remember. I have a lot of runes to teach you, there's no point in getting them mixed up if you can help it."
You give a tiny sigh but reach for another slip of paper.
"The next rune I want to teach you is a variant of the Wind rune," Blake says. "I don't know the standard Wind rune, actually—blame the scattered form my education had to take while trying to survive—but this one is an Imbuement, and gives qualities of the wind to what you write it on. You'll need to apply it to something other than a piece of paper, though. Pick something with some heft, you'll be swinging it around."
You look around your room rather fruitlessly, finally picking the hand mirror. You'll definitely try not to break it, because you have no idea if there's another in the house, but even if it does break, it's not a huge deal, since you have all of those little bicycle mirrors.
"Okay," Blake says from the n'kisi, "now inscribe this symbol on it somewhere." Blake holds up a curving, sprawling space. It's more complex than the others you've seen so far, but it doesn't take too much longer to work.
As it does, you see the spirits rush in from…not from nowhere, it was different from when the spirits multiplied, created from nothing, but you couldn't see where they were coming from.
You think again of that strange feeling the first time you turned your Sight back on after adding more power to the pen, and you wonder for a moment.
"So what's it do?" you ask, swinging the mirror around a little after stepping away from the desk.
"It basically has the air around you help the use of the tool that's been imbued. It buoys the object some, so it feels lighter, and the air will help push it any direction you want it to go, making it hit a little harder too. It's a pretty complex rune, actually, even if the effects can seem a little understated. The air pushes back the other way just a bit, for instance, so you don't have to worry about the effects plucking the object from your hand. Not that it will keep it in your hand if you don't have a good grip on it."
"That could be really handy," you say, swinging the mirror a little more. It's not exactly easy to tell, but that's probably because it's such a small object, and you're not hitting anything with it. "Being able to hit harder than I normally do will probably be very useful."
It occurs to you after a moment that you should be able to see what Blake's talking about. You're the one with Sight that shows parts of the real world. But you haven't been able to see the spirits of the air around you.
Huh. Built-in limitation of your power, or just something that would take practice to show up?
"If we were in Earth…Mem," Blake says when you ask him, "I'd say that it was just a matter of practice. But the rules seem to be different here. Don't give up on the idea, though."
You nod as you twirl the mirror around a little more, then go to your desk to start practicing the rune on scraps of paper. Well, maybe the bigger scraps of paper for now. It's a really complex rune.
"Next is the Quiet rune. Pretty self-explanatory, really. They make what they're inscribed on quiet."
"That's cool," you say nonchalantly from your seat on your desk. "Do you have a rune for disrupting electronic systems too?"
Blake eyes you suspiciously. "Not exactly, but I'm sure we could come up with something. Why?"
"Oh, I was just trying to think of what else you may have learned that would have helped with your previous career as a magical cat burglar."
He twitches. "Can you really not think of any other uses for—" He cuts himself off when you finally let a tiny grin show. Blake's eyes narrow. "Oh, I see how it is…" His voice trails off ominously, but you refuse to take it seriously, letting the grin grow enough you could call it 'small.' "Anyway, it's pretty versatile. I remember applying it to a long chain and it affecting most of it with a single rune, and I remember applying it to my shoes, too. One time, it silenced a whole person when they held a piece of paper with the rune on it. I think it would be handy, don't you?"
An entirely different grin crosses your face this time.
"The next rune enhances durability without affecting anything else about the object," Blake informs you. "It's referred to as the Durability rune." Blake pauses for a moment. "Do you mind if I tell you that right now is one of those moments when I seriously miss being able to be sarcastic?"
"Uh, no, I don't mind," you say, only a little amused at his predicament.
"Okay, thanks. Yeah, it sucks. Moving on, the affected object will feel completely normal in every way, until you try to do something to physically damage it. Even then, it won't change how it feels or acts, it will just…not be damaged as easily."
You tear off a piece of paper. "So will it work on people?" you ask, copying out the rune that Blake is holding up in the mirror.
"No," Blake says, as the number of a specific kind of spirit start to multiply and flood from the rune and into the paper. "This rune only affects inanimate or inorganic objects."
"So organic but inanimate items are fine?" you ask reasonably, idly trying to rip the runed paper.
"I think the best way to describe it is that it only affects nonliving and dead materials. No way to use it to enhance humans, or animals in general." His tone grows amused as you continue trying to rip the paper.
You stop before you start embarrassing yourself, and grab some scissors.
They fare no better, though you can see the rune working a little harder when you're working harder to rip it.
You catch your breath for a second. "Useful rune," you say, possibilities dancing through your head.
"This rune is an alarm rune, with a hampering function. It's called the Stationary rune."
"Alarm rune?" you ask curiously.
"A name given to runes that are you used exclusively or extensively to guard things, but are not wards; at least, that's what I recall on the matter. Hampering simply means that it's designed to slow down the intruder, rather than attack them or alert you to the intrusion."
"Okay, so what does the Stationary rune do?"
"It takes the object it's applied to, and it makes it stiff all over, everything sort of stick together. It also makes it harder to move at all. Apply it to a lock, and the tumblers are going to be harder to manipulate, even with the key. Apply it to a door, and the hinges aren't going to move very easily at all. So on and so forth."
"Hm," you say to yourself. You quickly copy the rune onto one of the scraps of paper you have with you, feeling the power flow down your arm and into the rune. "And if you draw it on paper…hm." The formerly flexible piece of paper is now quite rigid, and seems to resist being moved from where it was placed on the desk. "Well, I can definitely see how this would hamper someone trying to take the paper away."
"Yes," Blake says with wry amusement as you fail to so much as slip a fingernail under the edge of the paper scrap. "It's a little less effective when there's more pieces that can move, but still, it's quite handy for slowing people who are breaking into your stuff."
"I believe it," you say, looking at the paper with the Sight. A ton of different spirits had gushed from the rune after you finished making it. Many of them were ones that were already present in the paper, and some were the ones you saw in the Push rune—you really need to figure out exactly what those are—that seem to do nothing until you try to move the paper, at which point they actively oppose your efforts, but there are others you don't recognize at all. Still, you are new to this whole thing. You're sure there are plenty of spirits you haven't seen yet.
You look around your room. What to try it on next?
"This alarm rune has a notice function instead, though I honestly don't know how that'll work here."
You look askance at Blake. "Why's that?"
"Because back on…back home, it would alert the practitioner via a connection with them. But connections don't see to work with you, or at least you don't seem to be able to magically create them, so I don't know how it will alert you."
You shrug. "There's one way to find out." You start to copy it down from Blake. "What's the trigger for this alarm rune, by the way?"
"Living beings that get close enough to it."
You nod, then almost ruin the rune by stopping before it's done. Recovering in time, you finish the rune, then look up at Blake. "With some kind of minimum threshold, I assume," you say. "So it isn't going off constantly due to germs."
"Well yeah," Blake says. "Magic is more intuitive than strictly literal, generally speaking. Just because it's a rune for locating living beings doesn't mean it will catch everything that's living—it was designed for bigger things. I admit I don't know the limits, however."
Part of the way through his explanation, however, you are distracted by something you can only describe as a light starting to shine inside your brain. You share this information with Blake immediately.
"Interesting," he says. "Leave the rune on the table and step away."
You do, and the shine disappears before you even start to get up. You stop, and slowly extend your hand towards the rune. When your hand gets close enough, the light shines again. You move your hand back and forth, watching the light shine on and off, then get out a ruler to check the distance from the rune that the light activates.
"A little less than six inches," you read off.
"Hm…how much power did you put into it?"
"Not much," you say. "The first runes weren't exactly taking a lot, but when I realized how many I would be doing for practice, I tried to limit how much energy I was using each time. Especially since we don't know where or how I'll get more of it."
"Good idea," Blake says. "Did you happen to check this morning to see if you had gotten any more while you slept, before you started using more?"
"…no," you say, chagrined.
"Oh well," Blake says easily. "Tomorrow's a new day. Anyway, I think that the radius would vary if you put more power into it. Don't worry about it for now, though, let's just focus on getting the runes learned first."
"I agree," you say, bending over yet another scrap of paper. You move the first off to the side so that it's not constantly lit up, but pause when the internal light seems to shift in time with the alarm's movement. You close your eyes to better focus on it, and move the rune around. The light in your head does move in sync with the rune's movement, though only slight distances.
Interesting.
"The last rune that I'm sure I can teach you today is the Protection rune."
"Protection, huh?" you say. "How's it different from Durability?"
"There is some overlap," Blake says, "but I think it would be best shown through demonstration." He looks around for a moment. "Alright, you already have a trash can; do you have a lighter in here?"
You blink at him. "No," you say, nonplussed.
"Do you know where one is in the house?"
"Yes." Your dad keeps one by the stove, since your pilot lights aren't always the most reliable.
"Please go get it, along with a large glass of water. Oh, and empty your trash can too."
Slightly mystified, but starting to see where he's going with this, you do as you're asked. You keep an eye out for your dad, but you still don't see him anywhere. That's a little weird, since he didn't mention going in to work today, but you aren't looking a gift horse in the mouth.
"Now please look away from the mirror," Blake says with a small smile.
"Why?" you ask, your voice wary.
"So it can be a surprise," Blake says, smile growing a bit.
You comply, grumbling a bit, but then keep a sharp ear out to see what you can figure out. The answer is 'not much,' though you can hear the lighter being used, and water being poured later, the implications of which were obvious to you before you went downstairs. The sounds continue for a little while, though, and long enough for him to have poured out the cup multiple times. You don't hear him leaving to refill it, so either he's quieter than you thought, or—oh! That's right, at the library he mentioned he could reset the mirror world. He's probably doing that.
Finally, Blake gets your attention. "Alright, so to demonstrate the difference between Durability and Protection, first you need to copy this rune," he says, holding up a piece of paper, "and then you need to grab some of the Durability rune papers you left around."
Except for the alarm runes, which were annoying if kept near you, you were keeping the paper with runes on them inside a desk drawer. Once you finish copying the Protection rune on another piece of paper, you open it up and fish out a couple Durability rune papers.
"First things first," he says. "Try to cut or tear the Durability rune again, just to refresh your memory."
You give Blake an unamused look, but try again anyway. Under the Sight, you notice the specific spirits that Durability encouraged and produced increase as you up the amount of force you apply.
"Okay, now try the same with the paper with the Protection rune."
The Protection rune looks strange under the Sight. Durability was all one kind of spirit, but Protection is a dense packet of various spirits, so tightly packed that you have trouble making them out. A (relative) few spirits already spread throughout the paper, one kind that you recognize as from the Durability runes, but the rest completely different, though you recognize seeing some of them in objects before.
When you try to cut the paper, the Durability rune spirits concentrate on the area, and a flood of them gush out of the Protection rune. You stop in surprise, and the flood slows, then starts gently flowing back into the rune. You try to cut somewhere else, and the process repeats itself in the new location, with a bit more of the spirits staying at the location of the original cutting attempt.
You relate this information to Blake, who smiles. "Good. That's the overlap. Now pour a little water into your trash can, enough to cover the bottom. Take the longest strip of paper that you have the Durability rune on, then try to light the far end, holding it over the trash can so you can drop it in if needed."
When you do so, you're shown a very strange sight—the paper burns clearly, but the shape is maintained, for the most part, crinkling and twisting but holding better than you would expect. The fire spirits are also quite interesting, in how they're shifting, consuming, leaping about…
"Taylor." It takes Blake's warning for you to remember to let go of the paper, dropping into the water at the bottom of the can. You don't need a reminder to grab your glass of water and pour it over what flames are left.
"That was weird," you say, still staring down at the can.
"Like I said," he says, "Durability adjusts how hard something is to physically damage, but nothing else. It didn't touch the flammability at all. Now try it with the Protection rune."
You do, and this time the flood of the spirits that the Durability rune uses is more of a trickle. Instead, there is a flood of different spirits that rush to where the flame is, and the end result is…nothing. The flame is on the paper, the same distance that worked before, but the paper itself appears unharmed. Looking closer with your Sight, you see minor traces of damage, but not nearly as much as there should be, and no more is added while you're looking.
"So the Protection rune is reactive, and comprehensive? Rather than constantly protecting against one thing, it adjusts for whatever is trying to damage the object?"
"That fits my understanding," Blake says with a smile.
"It's not perfect, though," you say, setting aside the lighter to point out the spots that you can see are fire-damaged, even if they aren't noticeable to the normal eye.
"Nothing's perfect." Blake shrugs. "The Protection rune can't applied to living targets, either. Still, it's a lot better than nothing."
"It is," you agree. "Now I just need to practice writing it out over and over again."
"See, you're getting the hang of this."
You make a face at Blake before pulling over the next piece of paper.
"There's…one other rune that I may be able to teach you today."
"Really?" you blink at him. "I thought you said that the last one was, well, the last one."
"No, what I said was that it was the last one that I was sure I could teach you," Blake corrects. "And that's true. I'm not at all sure that I can teach you this one."
"Why's that? Is it one of the runes that you don't know exactly how to make?"
"No." Blake shakes his head. "Teaching you those will have to wait, at least for a little longer. I got a very up-close view of this rune, along with how it works. I'm unsure if I can teach it to you because it looks at the inside of the human body—"
"—and my Sight doesn't do that. I see." You frown in thought. "I still say try to teach it to me. We won't know if it will work or not until we try, and I don't see the harm in trying, do you?"
"Besides potentially lost time and power? No, not really."
"It probably wouldn't be that much power lost, either. Besides, I can't see air spirits, but they clearly come when I use the Wind Imbuement rune."
"Fair point," Blake says. He starts writing something out on another piece of paper. "You won't be able to use this on a piece of paper. Or maybe you would, but it won't be as distinctive. Try something you can point, with a clearly defined front and back."
You look around the room, rifling through your desk before finally settling on a pencil that you used to use to do your homework, before you got your delightful implement.
"That'll work fine," he says. "This rune also has a trigger, like Push does. Instead of a gesture, though, this rune triggers when you run your finger across it. So make sure you put the rune somewhere you're not likely to accidentally set it off."
You give it some thought, but eventually you just place it near the top of the pencil, just below the metal band around the eraser.
"Good. Unfortunately, I don't know if we can test it now."
"Why's that?" you ask.
"The way this rune works, it orients whatever it's attached to in order to point to the nearest human heart in the direction that it's being pointed," Blake explains. "When I saw it being used, it was attached to a gun. Aim at the person, trigger the rune, then shoot once it's pointed at the heart."
"That sounds lethal," you say disapprovingly.
Blake waves his hands dismissively. "It wasn't. The target was essentially some kind of Brute, to use the loc—the common terms. It certainly inconvenienced her, but she was fine. Went right back to trying to kill us, from what I recall."
Well, that is better. And nothing says that you have to use it on guns. Containment foam launchers, for instance, might benefit from it. You're not sure, actually, but maybe.
"But anyway, I don't know if it works on the person holding the item, or triggering the rune," he continues. "It was on a gun, after all. Nobody was eager to aim at themselves."
"I'll test it," you shrug. You flip the pencil around, so that it's aiming at yourself, then run your finger along the rune. Like with the Wind Imbuement rune, you get the feeling that there are spirits moving without you being able to see them. The only spirits that you see moving are the mobile ones from the Push rune.
"Cool, it works," Blake's pleased voice sounds out.
You nod at him and start the process of copying the rune often enough that you'll be able to remember it later, but your mind is distracted now. After this, you are going to be talking to Blake, and you have some bombshells to drop on him. You hope it won't damage the comradery you two have built up thus far.
Basic Info
· Status
o Normal
o Anxious
o Little mirrors on hand: 17
· Big Three
o Central Pool ( (?-1)/? )
§ FAMILIAR
· Blake
o Normal
·
§ demesne
· Locker
o ???
·
§ implement
· Pen (Shamanism)
o Normal
·
·
· Alarm (hamper: Stationary)
· Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
· Durability (inanimate/inorganic)
· Imbuement (Wind: a little lighter, pushes a little harder)
· Orient: Heart (trigger: finger)
· Protection
· Push (trigger: gesture) [massive bonus to Mastering]
· Quiet
· Unlock
· Alarm (punish: Y)
· Banishment (incorporeal/projection)
· Defense (inanimate/inorganic, effect: temporary acid-touch)
· Electricity/Lightning
· Exile (prevents spirit tampering, mutes effects)
· Extinguish
· Fire
· Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
· Physical stasis (inanimate/inorganic)
· Reaching out (sensory, detection, no significant locomotion)
o Fire (senses warmth, explodes)
o Air (senses breath, moves faster)
o Earth (tracks footsteps, hits harder)
o Metal (transmits signals, moves slowly)
o Water (senses magic/powers, insta-charges)
Vote for one option per underlined section unless otherwise stated. Feel free to customize your votes with up to 60 words of additional description if the option is listed; if you are using someone else's plan and wish to add something to it, please bold the new portions.
At some point, you will want to master the runes that Blake already taught you. Which will you start with?
(Pick your top three, each on a separate line; order will progress with descending number of votes. Ties will be dealt with semi-randomly.)
- -[] Rune Name
- -[] Rune Name
- -[] Rune Name
At some point, you will want to learn the runes that Blake thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than training the spirits to react to totally new runes. Which will you start with?
(Pick your top three, each on a separate line; order will progress with descending number of votes. Ties will be dealt with semi-randomly.)
- -[] Rune Name
- -[] Rune Name
- -[] Rune Name
A/N:
So the Protection rune was added after a rereading of 2.5 showed that Blake did know that one. It was thus added to your list. Retcon ahoy! Remember, any runes you find that I don't already have gets automatically added to your repertoire (assuming that they fit the right requirements, detailed in the earlier [indexed] Crowdsourcing post). I also renamed Stick to Stationary upon further clarification on what the rune actually did.
Also, much of the next chapter is finished, but the last topic they have to talk on (of which I have seen no sign that you have noticed the clues for ) is going slowly for me, so splitting it is!
I also considered the Alarm: Hamper (stationary) rune, but the three listed have good synergy for going out and doing things. More specifically they seem to be good for enchanting clothes or items in a useful way, which could get us money, even if we don't use them ourselves.
I'm a bit more conflicted about figuring out new runes, there are a lot of good options, but i'm going with some basic elemental manipulation (and safety!) because they could be useful in minor ways. Powering an electronic device, for an example, and because I'm hoping the runes could have a theme we can figure out to make learning/creating entirely new runes easier.
To Learn:
- -[X] Electricity/Lightning
- -[X] Extinguish
- -[X] Fire
Preferably extinguish first, and hopefully in a way that lets us project the effect from a distance, or prevents flame from occurring on anything already marked.
At some point, you will want to master the runes that Blake already taught you. Which will you start with?
[X] Protection
[X] Push
[X] Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
These would fit the Rogue applications best I believe.
At some point, you will want to learn the runes that Blake thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than training the spirits to react to totally new runes. Which will you start with?
[X] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
[X] Exile (prevents spirit tampering, mutes effects)
[X] Escher connection
Same as above, defenses, and rogue utility.
Remember we're going for Rogue, we need defense, money makers and enough offense just to deter. Push us good offense, so the rest should be asset protection and moneymakers.
At some point, you will want to master the runes that Blake already taught you. Which will you start with?
[X] Protection
[X] Push
[X] Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
These would fit the Rogue applications best I believe.
At some point, you will want to learn the runes that Blake thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than training the spirits to react to totally new runes. Which will you start with?
[X] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
[X] Exile (prevents spirit tampering, mutes effects)
[X] Escher connection
Same as above, defenses, and rogue utility.
Remember we're going for Rogue, we need defense, money makers and enough offense just to deter. Push us good offense, so the rest should be asset protection and moneymakers.
Clothes that don't rip, boots that silence your footsteps, symbols that make things lighter, makes weapons hit harder? These are money-makers, both for civilians and parahumans. All three can also serve to protect Taylor in various situations, they're multifunctional.
And that's with the most obvious applications, there are likely subtle applications that could be even more useful. Could we inscribe the quiet rune on a car engine? A wind rune on a bike, or even a musical instrument? Sell unbreakable dishes!
Okay you have protection also, but I think quiet and wind would be better both for protection and business than push or alarm.
Push is combat-deterrence. We can increase it majorly, making it a useful get out of trouble spell.
Alarm is protecting our stuff. Make it too much trouble for the bullies to mess with our things.
Alarm would let us keep track, but wouldn't actually stop them at all, and it's not marketable.
Push also isn't marketable. Quiet lets us avoid confrontation, while wind + protect would be more useful if one couldn't be avoided. Better than push, I'd wager, especially since we don't have to expose ourself as a parahuman even in a combat situation.
At some point, you will want to master the runes that Blake already taught you. Which will you start with?
[X] Protection
[X] Push
[X] Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
At some point, you will want to learn the runes that Blake thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than training the spirits to react to totally new runes. Which will you start with?
[X] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
[X] Exile (prevents spirit tampering, mutes effects)
[X] Escher connection
At some point, you will want to master the runes that Blake already taught you. Which will you start with?
[X] Protection
[X] Push
[X] Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
These would fit the Rogue applications best I believe.
At some point, you will want to learn the runes that Blake thinks he can figure out and teach you more easily than training the spirits to react to totally new runes. Which will you start with?
[X] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
[X] Exile (prevents spirit tampering, mutes effects)
[X] Escher connection
Depends if we can control what the resultant metal is. Rhondium is a metal with a price tag of around 40,000 $kg-1 (cite: Wikipedia), due to its rarity and use as a catalytic converter (something which makes cars and other machinery more efficient). Then again, if that worked, every practitioner in Earth Mem would be an alchemist. We'll have to ask Sheaman if it's possible.
[X] Master:
--[X] Imbuement: Wind
--[X] Alarm (notice: Living Being Detection)
--[X] Protection
Water rune might be able to be used to detect Strangers, such as Imp. Could be useful to sell to the PRT, or a huge corporation that's (rightfully) afraid of corporate espionage. We'd have to figure out a way to pair it with the current security systems, since it wouldn't be that helpful if it just alerts us. Of course, if we make to many stuff, we run out of power. We need to figure out how to recharge ourselves as soon as possible.
The following votes are subject to change, assuming Sheaman's interpretations of what these runes do differ from mine.
[ ] Figure out:
--[ ] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
--[ ] Electricity/Lightning
--[ ] Water (senses magic/powers, insta-charges)
Edit: and Sheaman's interpretations do differ from mine. Also, I just noticed the invisitext.
[X] Figure out:
--[X] Escher connection
--[X]Physical stasis
--[X] Electricity/Lightning
To Learn:
- -[X] Electricity/Lightning
- -[X] Metal (pseudo-transmutation)
- -[X] Fire
I think Taylor's best bet is to become a materials specialist. The Pen is a very planning focused instrument, so runes that focus on building up resources over time are a good bet. It would certainly make us attractive to tinkers, and that's big money, especially with both armor making tinkers in town being connected to the PRT.
We could also contact Parian with them, as their powers would synergize well with hers, which would mean that we'd have another rogue to work with for mutual protection and profit. Someone who knows how the rogue rules/paperwork works would be incredibly helpful in avoiding being screwed over.
Push really just makes us a crappier Skidmark, and doesn't mesh well with the planning aesthetic. Also, we don't know how much power Taylor has so's it's risky to use repeatedly in combat. Especially it sounds like she has to draw it completely (no half made ones) whenever she wants to use it. Alarm is useful for Taylor, but is it useful enough for others to pay for when their are technological solutions?
As a note, the next chapter is already with my current beta, and so may be posted tomorrow night. As such, this vote will close in approximately24 hours from now.
i'm going with some basic elemental manipulation (and safety!) because they could be useful in minor ways. Powering an electronic device, for an example
Preferably extinguish first, and hopefully in a way that lets us project the effect from a distance, or prevents flame from occurring on anything already marked.
It's good that you said that, and ordered them in that way. Otherwise you totally would have tried to learn how to start fires before you learned how to put them out
We could also contact Parian with them, as their powers would synergize well with hers, which would mean that we'd have another rogue to work with for mutual protection and profit. Someone who knows how the rogue rules/paperwork works would be incredibly helpful in avoiding being screwed over.
This. Reread that part again, the light that goes off is only in your head. It doesn't actually shine so that anyone can see. You don't even See a difference.
Is that handy for using it stealthily? Absolutely. But it seriously hampers the resale value.
Which isn't to say that you couldn't come up with a workaround. But the above is the way that the rune is currently set up.
VictorBorA said:
So Blake is from after the ending of Pact, but still has his memories of his friends. Taylor triggered with the power to Make demesnes, and Blake was drawn to her as a consequence to be her familiar because of both being Wildbow protagonists.
Did i get all that right, or is it a spoiler for you to say?
Mm...sorta. Any particular reason you think Blake is from after the ending? Eyes the Orient: Heart rune.
Taylor triggered with the power of The Big Three, as in the big three power sources in Pact: Implement, Familiar, & Demesne. She was just panicking while being stuck in the Locker, the bundles appeared, and she grabbed PLACE (DEMESNE) because, well, her problem was related to the place she was in, and accidentally created her Demesne there. Oops.
Blake was summoned because: (Watsonian) she tried to use the PERSON (FAMILIAR) bundle, and he matched criteria she didn't realize she was choosing; and (Doyalist) the idea of Taylor and Blake, both of Wildbow's protags at the time, forced into close proximity like this was what sparked my interest with this story idea in the first place. They're so similar and yet so different is marvelously clashing ways haha
By the way, while posting here is perfectly fine, there is a lot more discussion over on SV. It swapped sites at some point, for some reason /shrug
It is possible to adjust your demesne, but that probably doesn't count, as any rule can be broken within a demesne.
Gathered Pages 2 said:
Fionna is more or less at ease, thanks in large part to the time she took to herself. She focuses on the details. She sees how the very air in her demesne cooperates. It tastes cleaner, it does not bar her movement, but buoys her. The ground accommodates her footfalls. She tries to manipulate the environment, by combinations of touch, word, and will, and finds it easy. The aesthetics are the easiest part of it to change, and she takes her time altering her surroundings.
Fionna makes wall and floor into flesh, the place of power becoming a womb of sorts. All things in her place of power are moist, and the ticking of a clock becomes the dull, distant thud of a heart. Veins on every surface throb in time with the sound.
...Any rule can theoretically be broken within the demesne. Should every rule be broken? No. Everything in moderation.
The Hyena turned itself into a metal sword, which didn't happen within a demesne. Blake was transformed by the Abyss, along with a lot of other stuff, but we don't serve the Abyss. Of course, none of that is transmutation, per se, so it probably doesn't count. But I hope it does. Will change my vote if it doesn't.
Could we use a Metal rune to render something more brittle possible to shape into wire, or melt down and cast like metal could? Or could the process destroy the rune before it does the needed?
The Hyena turned itself into a metal sword, which didn't happen within a demesne. Blake was transformed by the Abyss, along with a lot of other stuff, but we don't serve the Abyss. Of course, none of that is transmutation, per se, so it probably doesn't count.
No, it still doesn't count. The Abyss is the closest...but no. That's an exchange, not a transformation. (Before you think "semanics," remember which universe this is based on! ^_^) Even if it did, it wouldn't be through shamanism, which is the main point atm.
Sorry, I forgot to mention here--this rune has a catch, hinted in the list and outright stated in Pact. Failing to catch the catch ahead of time won't make it useless, at all, but it will make it less valuable until you address the issue.
Could we use a Metal rune to render something more brittle possible to shape into wire, or melt down and cast like metal could? Or could the process destroy the rune before it does the needed?
You don't know yet, and neither does Blake. His experience with the rune was much less creative (i.e., it was just used on a box to make it count as metal, so as to be a barrier for goblins).
Smell-be-gone sounds really good. It would help with sneaking (and we're nowhere near wanting to stand and fight most parahumans) and it's one of the more saleable runes so far.
Sorry, I forgot to mention here--this rune has a catch, hinted in the list and outright stated in Pact. Failing to catch the catch ahead of time won't make it useless, at all, but it will make it less valuable until you address the issue.
Is it that the rune turns to water when destroyed? Would that mean it would turn to water when it detects somebody? Because if it does: Pair it with an alarm:notice, and have it only release water when it detects somebody and the alarm:notice doesn't, then add an electricity rune to the mix. Assuming of course, that the ordinary alarm:notice doesn't detect strangers, obviously. Of course, that won't stop the issue of the rune being one-use. Or is it that the water rune glows?
No, it still doesn't count. The Abyss is the closest...but no. That's an exchange, not a transformation. (Before you think "semanics," remember which universe this is based on! ^_^) Even if it did, it wouldn't be through shamanism, which is the main point atm.
For Metal/Pseudotransmutation
Does the object corrode like metal while the rune is active? Does Blake know how long the rune lasts? If the rune is mastered can the metal type be chosen?
Silver is the most conductive metal, but corrodes (tarnishes) easily. If this rune can make things as conductive as silver it'll be incredibly valuable. Also, gold doesn't corrode, so if doesn't corrode can be applied to objects...
I'm being far too optimistic, but being able to treat non-metallic objects as metallic is still very useful.
It's good that you said that, and ordered them in that way. Otherwise you totally would have tried to learn how to start fires before you learned how to put them out
I'm pretty sure we need to gather power via our demense/familiar, and I don't think stealing power from Blake is a good idea. We are going to need to deal with our demense problem before opening shop.
Mm...sorta. Any particular reason you think Blake is from after the ending?
As (I'm pretty sure) I've stated in the story before, it depends on the amount of power invested in the rune and how much the changes themselves are used.
So if you take two identical pieces of wood and put this rune on both with the same amount of power, then put one on a shelf and conduct electricity through the other, the one on the shelf will last much longer.
Silver is the most conductive metal, but corrodes (tarnishes) easily. If this rune can make things as conductive as silver it'll be incredibly valuable. Also, gold doesn't corrode, so if doesn't corrode can be applied to objects...
heh Do remember that these runes are half-solved, but this point. They're good, but not that good. It would be more effective just trying to use straight shamanism, no runes, to shut it down. It's comparatively expensive and slow, but it's a lot better than nothing when you don't have the rune for what you need.
I'm pretty sure we need to gather power via our demense/familiar, and I don't think stealing power from Blake is a good idea. We are going to need to deal with our demense problem before opening shop.
The aim rune was used on Ms. Lewis, not Crone Mara. Or rather, it was used on Crone Mara (grazed her ear? shoot, did it let them pick their targets? hm...) but from Blake's POV, the most notable use was against Ms. Lewis.
That's no problem, you could still post here if you want. I was just letting you know why it was going to look like not much was happening and then suddenly a bunch of votes pop up in my tallies
