The Lighthouses and the Pit (Fantasy Mage Quest)
- Thread starter occipitallobe
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Woman
Bound to the Blade
- Location
- Straya
"Explanation?"
This is the first word you've said in awhile.
The scarred woman nods.
"I am Biting Blade, currently elected Guildmaster of the Guild of Blades. And yes, dear Dancing Dagger and I picked our names together, I'm sure you can tell. There's no need for you to try alliteration, though. Not if you don't want to."
Dagger coughs loudly.
"However, there are a few things we need to explain to you. Other orders of mages do this differently. I know the Tremorfeet charge their new members for the privilege of learning the Three Secrets, and they don't explain the guild books at all, and the Shaderunners make tests out of it for some fool reason. We're the Bladebound, and I think it's fair to say we're a little more practical than that. I know most of this doesn't make any sense right now, but just listen to what I have to say, and remember it as best you can. It's all important."
She draws a breath.
"Firstly, the Three Secrets. The First Secret is the Hidden Name. We don't understand it, really. When you leave the Lighthouse, your name is taken from the world. Not just from you. You forget it, but so does everyone else who remembers it. Even if it's written down, doesn't matter. Gone. You can get it back, though, and it does... something. The records aren't really clear, to be honest, but it's something good. I don't know anyone who has, but some mages spend time chasing after it."
"Secondly, Consuming the Dark. Kill a Darkling, and a fragment of whatever powers it goes to you. The amount depends on where you are. Near a Lighthouse, not much. In the Pit, you'll get growth you can feel. Catch is, has to be killed with a sword. I assume the same is true for other mages - Tremorfeet need to kill with earth, and so on. While you're aware of it, don't try and make a habit of it. Darklings are very dangerous."
"Thirdly, the Traitor's Price. Kill a mage, and quite a large portion of her powers go to you. We tell you this because we want to let you know we know. Killing another mage, no matter the reason, carries the death penalty unless you can prove quite strongly you were defending yourself or the City. Another mage decides to kill and eat fifty villagers from the plains and you kill her to stop it? The City will bring death on you."
Something in your eyes betrays the horror you feel, and she shakes her head gently.
"Not saying I agree, necessarily. But you strike down another mage for anything beyond self-defense or treason to the City and you die. Simple as that. Wounding and maiming are settled at Council, but we don't tolerate the use of the Traitor's Price."
At that, she reaches down and tosses you a book.
You fumble, dropping it on the floor.
"Right. Sorry, the whole weakness thing. Normally it's not so bad."
You lean down to pick it up, and she continued speaking.
"This is a Guild Book. Basically, any agreements or contracts you enter into with another mage need to be witnesses - if you make an agreement alone, it's worth nothing. If it's witnessed and signed by one other mage, they enter it in their Guild Book, and you all write down each other's names. One witness is enough for minor things, like a thousand coins or something - something you could do in a day. Two is required for favors that would take more than a week of your time to fulfill, three for those that take more than a month, and five for those that take more than a year. We have an Artifact that makes them, and once written in, the ink is indelible. Can't be removed, pages can't be torn out."
Biting Blade yawns.
"That's everything. Normally I'd be less circumspect, but... well, things have happened and they need our attention. Barely had time to throw together the ceremony. Dagger, can you take the mageling down to the armory and get started?"
Dancing Dagger nods.
You blink. It had all been very.. perfunctory. You had expected gravitas and power, and you had gotten a tired middle-aged woman reading through some rules to you as though you had begun school.
You follow Dagger down a corridor, and a few turns, and finally reach a small room, the door screeching as it opens.
"So. I know this is a lot to take in. Biter didn't want to tell you, but we just lost a lot of people, so she hasn't been sleeping, trying to organize a rescue expedition into the Pit so we can-. Well, enough on that. Normally she'd go through the deal with you, but I'll outline it to you now. Join the Guild of Blades. We'll train you, equip and arm you for a year. In return, you owe us a month of service. Alternatively, we'll give you a month's worth of instruction and a weapon for free."
She leans over to you and faux-whispers.
"Trust me, the training is worth it. I can cut my hair with my sword now. Not that you have to decide now, the month is free either way."
She gestures to the inside of the room.
Inside are all sorts of bladed weapons - halberds, daggers, swords and even a bladed whip, all hanging from the wall.
"I'd tell you to choose a weapon, but that's not really the easiest thing. Let me tell you about some of the tricks you could learn in the next month, and pick a weapon based on that..."
This is our first Approval Vote. Vote for as many options as you'd like or think are cool, as it helps increase the viability of all options throughout a vote.
[ ] Blade Projection
The edge of the blade projects outwards, cutting beyond where it strikes. At first you might have a range of a two or three metres, but in time you can fight at ranges of fifty or sixty metres, and a master of Blade Projection might find themselves able to engage at five or six hundred metres. One of the most common tricks for a Bladebound to learn, Dancing Dagger tells you, but also one of the most useful - you are not naturally tougher or faster than a normal human, so being able to fight at distance can prevent you from engaging powerful Darklings up close. She also notes it is one of the hardest tricks to integrate with others - you cannot use Blade Projection and Infinite Sharpness together without massively reducing the power of both.
Best used with a weapon with more blade like a bastard sword to reduce the effects of low accuracy - Primary Weapon becomes Bastard Sword.
[ ] Infinite Sharpness
Not infinite, as such, but for a few crucial moments the blade of your weapon can cut through almost anything. As you gain skill with this spell you can sustain the period for longer - a high-levelled Infinite Sharpness can cut through an enemy's blade, armour, and body. While more dangerous to use in melee, it is also quite powerful even against the most powerful enemies. Dancing Dagger advises you want range for this - using a bill or naginata means you don't have to get so close to use your technique.
Primary Weapon becomes Naginata.
[ ] Cutting the Strings
Other techniques allow you to cut your enemies flesh with the blade, this allows you to cut other things. You will perceive your foes differently, seeing weakpoints you can use with this technique to cut away their ability to fight, or their speed, or their strength without harming them directly. Dagger warns you this technique is sub-par against Darklings - you want to kill them, not disable them (though being able to weaken powerful regenerating Darklings that shrug off most harms is certainly an option), but against other mages this is tremendously powerful. Since these conceptual 'strings' do not always appear directly on the opponent's body (sometimes above or nearby), a longer weapon with more ability to target various places is ideal. Dagger advises this is a very niche option, and few Bladebound take it.
Primary Weapon becomes Urumi (Bladed Whip).
[ ] Severing Distance
This is more difficult to learn, but has tremendous applicability in combat. Where other techniques cut the enemy, your blade can for a moment cut away the distance that lies between two points, allow you to step back twenty metres or forward fifty, dodging in and out of combat with impossible speed. The primary difficulty, Dagger advises, is that you must cut in the distance you intend to travel - retreating from combat requires turning your blade from the enemy, and that at first you will be moving half a metre or so. In the long term, though, you can move in and out of combat with tremendous speed. She also advises it's best to be able to cut away with one blade and defend with the other - different blades give different distances, so it's best to have two identical ones to make your 'steps' easier to time and use.
Primary Weapon becomes Twin Shortswords.
This is the first word you've said in awhile.
The scarred woman nods.
"I am Biting Blade, currently elected Guildmaster of the Guild of Blades. And yes, dear Dancing Dagger and I picked our names together, I'm sure you can tell. There's no need for you to try alliteration, though. Not if you don't want to."
Dagger coughs loudly.
"However, there are a few things we need to explain to you. Other orders of mages do this differently. I know the Tremorfeet charge their new members for the privilege of learning the Three Secrets, and they don't explain the guild books at all, and the Shaderunners make tests out of it for some fool reason. We're the Bladebound, and I think it's fair to say we're a little more practical than that. I know most of this doesn't make any sense right now, but just listen to what I have to say, and remember it as best you can. It's all important."
She draws a breath.
"Firstly, the Three Secrets. The First Secret is the Hidden Name. We don't understand it, really. When you leave the Lighthouse, your name is taken from the world. Not just from you. You forget it, but so does everyone else who remembers it. Even if it's written down, doesn't matter. Gone. You can get it back, though, and it does... something. The records aren't really clear, to be honest, but it's something good. I don't know anyone who has, but some mages spend time chasing after it."
"Secondly, Consuming the Dark. Kill a Darkling, and a fragment of whatever powers it goes to you. The amount depends on where you are. Near a Lighthouse, not much. In the Pit, you'll get growth you can feel. Catch is, has to be killed with a sword. I assume the same is true for other mages - Tremorfeet need to kill with earth, and so on. While you're aware of it, don't try and make a habit of it. Darklings are very dangerous."
"Thirdly, the Traitor's Price. Kill a mage, and quite a large portion of her powers go to you. We tell you this because we want to let you know we know. Killing another mage, no matter the reason, carries the death penalty unless you can prove quite strongly you were defending yourself or the City. Another mage decides to kill and eat fifty villagers from the plains and you kill her to stop it? The City will bring death on you."
Something in your eyes betrays the horror you feel, and she shakes her head gently.
"Not saying I agree, necessarily. But you strike down another mage for anything beyond self-defense or treason to the City and you die. Simple as that. Wounding and maiming are settled at Council, but we don't tolerate the use of the Traitor's Price."
At that, she reaches down and tosses you a book.
You fumble, dropping it on the floor.
"Right. Sorry, the whole weakness thing. Normally it's not so bad."
You lean down to pick it up, and she continued speaking.
"This is a Guild Book. Basically, any agreements or contracts you enter into with another mage need to be witnesses - if you make an agreement alone, it's worth nothing. If it's witnessed and signed by one other mage, they enter it in their Guild Book, and you all write down each other's names. One witness is enough for minor things, like a thousand coins or something - something you could do in a day. Two is required for favors that would take more than a week of your time to fulfill, three for those that take more than a month, and five for those that take more than a year. We have an Artifact that makes them, and once written in, the ink is indelible. Can't be removed, pages can't be torn out."
Biting Blade yawns.
"That's everything. Normally I'd be less circumspect, but... well, things have happened and they need our attention. Barely had time to throw together the ceremony. Dagger, can you take the mageling down to the armory and get started?"
Dancing Dagger nods.
You blink. It had all been very.. perfunctory. You had expected gravitas and power, and you had gotten a tired middle-aged woman reading through some rules to you as though you had begun school.
You follow Dagger down a corridor, and a few turns, and finally reach a small room, the door screeching as it opens.
"So. I know this is a lot to take in. Biter didn't want to tell you, but we just lost a lot of people, so she hasn't been sleeping, trying to organize a rescue expedition into the Pit so we can-. Well, enough on that. Normally she'd go through the deal with you, but I'll outline it to you now. Join the Guild of Blades. We'll train you, equip and arm you for a year. In return, you owe us a month of service. Alternatively, we'll give you a month's worth of instruction and a weapon for free."
She leans over to you and faux-whispers.
"Trust me, the training is worth it. I can cut my hair with my sword now. Not that you have to decide now, the month is free either way."
She gestures to the inside of the room.
Inside are all sorts of bladed weapons - halberds, daggers, swords and even a bladed whip, all hanging from the wall.
"I'd tell you to choose a weapon, but that's not really the easiest thing. Let me tell you about some of the tricks you could learn in the next month, and pick a weapon based on that..."
This is our first Approval Vote. Vote for as many options as you'd like or think are cool, as it helps increase the viability of all options throughout a vote.
[ ] Blade Projection
The edge of the blade projects outwards, cutting beyond where it strikes. At first you might have a range of a two or three metres, but in time you can fight at ranges of fifty or sixty metres, and a master of Blade Projection might find themselves able to engage at five or six hundred metres. One of the most common tricks for a Bladebound to learn, Dancing Dagger tells you, but also one of the most useful - you are not naturally tougher or faster than a normal human, so being able to fight at distance can prevent you from engaging powerful Darklings up close. She also notes it is one of the hardest tricks to integrate with others - you cannot use Blade Projection and Infinite Sharpness together without massively reducing the power of both.
Best used with a weapon with more blade like a bastard sword to reduce the effects of low accuracy - Primary Weapon becomes Bastard Sword.
[ ] Infinite Sharpness
Not infinite, as such, but for a few crucial moments the blade of your weapon can cut through almost anything. As you gain skill with this spell you can sustain the period for longer - a high-levelled Infinite Sharpness can cut through an enemy's blade, armour, and body. While more dangerous to use in melee, it is also quite powerful even against the most powerful enemies. Dancing Dagger advises you want range for this - using a bill or naginata means you don't have to get so close to use your technique.
Primary Weapon becomes Naginata.
[ ] Cutting the Strings
Other techniques allow you to cut your enemies flesh with the blade, this allows you to cut other things. You will perceive your foes differently, seeing weakpoints you can use with this technique to cut away their ability to fight, or their speed, or their strength without harming them directly. Dagger warns you this technique is sub-par against Darklings - you want to kill them, not disable them (though being able to weaken powerful regenerating Darklings that shrug off most harms is certainly an option), but against other mages this is tremendously powerful. Since these conceptual 'strings' do not always appear directly on the opponent's body (sometimes above or nearby), a longer weapon with more ability to target various places is ideal. Dagger advises this is a very niche option, and few Bladebound take it.
Primary Weapon becomes Urumi (Bladed Whip).
[ ] Severing Distance
This is more difficult to learn, but has tremendous applicability in combat. Where other techniques cut the enemy, your blade can for a moment cut away the distance that lies between two points, allow you to step back twenty metres or forward fifty, dodging in and out of combat with impossible speed. The primary difficulty, Dagger advises, is that you must cut in the distance you intend to travel - retreating from combat requires turning your blade from the enemy, and that at first you will be moving half a metre or so. In the long term, though, you can move in and out of combat with tremendous speed. She also advises it's best to be able to cut away with one blade and defend with the other - different blades give different distances, so it's best to have two identical ones to make your 'steps' easier to time and use.
Primary Weapon becomes Twin Shortswords.
- Location
- Portugal
[X] Man
[X] Severing Distance
[X] Infinite Sharpness
A mix with a teleporting ability and a sharpening ability would be legal indend. Go in make a devastating strike and come out before you can be touched. It would be deadly, unpredictable, and mobile. Battling for itself is always a dangerous endeavour but this way we would be minimizing risk with our increased mobility.
[X] Severing Distance
[X] Infinite Sharpness
A mix with a teleporting ability and a sharpening ability would be legal indend. Go in make a devastating strike and come out before you can be touched. It would be deadly, unpredictable, and mobile. Battling for itself is always a dangerous endeavour but this way we would be minimizing risk with our increased mobility.
Last edited:
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[1] Blade Projection
[2] Cutting the Strings
[3] Severing Distance
[2] Cutting the Strings
[3] Severing Distance
- Location
- Straya
The votecounting system can't handle ranked voting, just mark each one with an [X] like you'd normally do.
[X] Severing Distance
I think Severing Distance is useful (and I also like the idea of teleporting around), and I think other useful skills such as Blade Projection are easier to use with two shortswords than using Severing Distance with a large sword.
I don't think this is ranked voting, just vote normally for every option you'd like.
I think Severing Distance is useful (and I also like the idea of teleporting around), and I think other useful skills such as Blade Projection are easier to use with two shortswords than using Severing Distance with a large sword.
I don't think this is ranked voting, just vote normally for every option you'd like.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Blade Projection
[X] Cutting the Strings
[X] Woman
[X] Cutting the Strings
[X] Woman
- Location
- Straya
Keep in mind this determines the first power you learn - you can learn others in time (or spend effort maxing out one), in the long-term you can master a bunch of powers.
- Location
- USA
Well since Bladebound doesn't use magic but is determined by our stamina. Couldn't we use Severing Distance to travel around crazy fast? Assuming you can swing your sword a bunch of times before tiring but I've heard of people training by swinging their sword thousands of times.
@occipitallobe is our primary weapon also changeable later?
@occipitallobe is our primary weapon also changeable later?
- Location
- Straya
Yes, but the multiplier is less than you might think. If you max it out, though, you can move at pretty tremendous speeds, though you're absolutely subject to line-of-sight. The problem of course is dumping all your effort into Severing Distance makes you a pretty garbage combatant otherwise.
Yes. This determines what you'll train with for a month. You're not locked in at any point.
- Location
- USA
[X] Man
[X] Blade Projection
[X] Infinite Sharpness
Honestly I like them all and would be fine with any.
I want to travel and kill Darklings though, and this seems like the best starting technique to do so. Let's us have the option to be safe while we are weaker. Though infinite sharpness might give us more straight killing ability on Darklings, making it close in usefulness.
[X] Blade Projection
[X] Infinite Sharpness
Honestly I like them all and would be fine with any.
I want to travel and kill Darklings though, and this seems like the best starting technique to do so. Let's us have the option to be safe while we are weaker. Though infinite sharpness might give us more straight killing ability on Darklings, making it close in usefulness.
Last edited:
[X] Man
[X] Blade Projection
[X] Infinite Sharpness
[X] Blade Projection
[X] Infinite Sharpness
- Location
- scrabbling
[X] Woman
[X] Infinite Sharpness
[X] Severing Distance
[X] Infinite Sharpness
[X] Severing Distance
- Location
- Straya
With Severing Distance and Infinite Sharpness very much in the lead, here's some arguments for the other two and against these. (I feel it's important to note I always argue for the losing options. Don't take this as QM approval or desire for one option or another).
Firstly, Severing Distance starts out very low-tier (half a metre extra movement in a step!), and really just gives you a slight mobility advantage. It's good, but not superhuman good, at least initially. Its main rival, Blade Projection on the other hand, lets you deliver blows from a metre or two away. In a swordfight, an extra metre or two of reach is huge.
Likewise, Infinite Sharpness is awesome, but it's specifically awesome. Enemy with a blade? Dead. Enemy spitting acid? Low usefulness. Cutting the Strings on the other hand is weak, but has broad-spectrum usefulness. Can't kill your enemy? Cut down their speed and run away! Enemy regenerating? Cut down their strength to give you time to hack them apart!
Firstly, Severing Distance starts out very low-tier (half a metre extra movement in a step!), and really just gives you a slight mobility advantage. It's good, but not superhuman good, at least initially. Its main rival, Blade Projection on the other hand, lets you deliver blows from a metre or two away. In a swordfight, an extra metre or two of reach is huge.
Likewise, Infinite Sharpness is awesome, but it's specifically awesome. Enemy with a blade? Dead. Enemy spitting acid? Low usefulness. Cutting the Strings on the other hand is weak, but has broad-spectrum usefulness. Can't kill your enemy? Cut down their speed and run away! Enemy regenerating? Cut down their strength to give you time to hack them apart!
- Location
- va
[X] Man
[X] Severing Distance
[X] Infinite Sharpness
[X] Severing Distance
[X] Infinite Sharpness