A Direct Demonstration
shepsquared
Erratic Aussie
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Mephits are stubborn creatures. They're well aware of their status at the bottom of the pecking order on the Elemental Planes and compensate by many means - constant mischief, cruelty whenever they can get away with it and always telling themselves who much better they'd be at being in charge.
So you won't be able to get the ostensible Ostentatious Ochrevena to talk about his summoner anytime soon. You don't know enough about dust mephits to guess at the best approach, nor would be comfortable threatening him.
He isn't a demon and you won't treat him like one.
Instead you'll focus on something that will lead you to the summoner without having to worry about anyone's opinion. Something you only have a limited time to achieve.
A tuning fork is the key component of the Plane Shift spell, allowing the caster to target a teleportation spell across the undefined infinities of separate universes without ever having been to the destination themselves. But they're useful for so much more than that.
With the quintessence that the 'yarn lizard' is made of you could make a tuning fork attuned to the Ethereal Plane and easily track down the rift between planes the elementals have been using - or reopen the rift you originally came through.
Hidden in an inner pocket of your pack is a tuning fork you took from Fethrymil's study, one attuned to the Material Plane, specifically Golarion. You could use it to navigate the Deep Ethereal to find your way back home, or to teleport directly there from another plane with the Plane Shift spell - or as a guide on how to craft another.
"I'm going to need you to put the elemental down and step back. I've never done this before, so there's a non-zero chance I hit some kind of resonant frequency and blow it up." You say to Yatsuhashi as you crouch down and sort through your supplies.
You'll need the ash wand, the crystal vial and the tuning fork. When you pull them out you can't help but rub the caged circle that represents your home before standing, seeing that Yatsuhashi hasn't moved,
"You want to hold your horses and tell the rest of us what the hell you're doing?" Coco cuts in, Yatsuhashi stopping with the corpse now awkwardly cradled in his arms.
"I can use the quintessence of the elemental's body to create a tuning fork that resonates with the Ethereal Plane. That will let us travel to the Ethereal Plane and track down the summoner." You explain.
"You know that sounds like nonsense right? I get that you apparently know about all of this, but we don't. And since this is our mission I'm going to have to insist on you filling us in before I decide what we do next." Coco says angrily.
You take a moment to examine the yarn lizard's corpse as you consider the time frame you're working with. It's dissolving, yes, but not that fast. Unless it's just going to vanish all at once when it reaches some kind of critical threshold you have more than enough time to talk before getting to work.
"Wait, why didn't you tell them anything?" You ask Bella, realising that you shouldn't have to do this. "You've had hours to explain everything while I was out here."
"I thought we were meant to keep it a secret." Your familiar reminds you with an innocent look. "That's what Ozpin asked."
"Technically Glynda was the one who asked us to lie low and that was about not letting people see us at the school. Which you deliberately ignored." You complain.
"So did you. And magic in general is a secret here." Bella argues.
"A specific type of magic is a secret here. That doesn't justify not telling someone about elementals and where they come from when they've already fought them." You respond. Sometimes it feels like Bella's deliberately trying to frustrate you.
Or maybe you're just frustrating yourself.
"You're saying these things are magical?" Coco asks, unimpressed.
"I think she's saying that she's magic." Fox adds.
"I am a spellcaster, yes. The creatures Velvet and Yatsuhashi fought are magical beings from another plane of existence that almost definitely arrived here through magic and we're going to need to find another spellcaster to find out why he's doing any of this." You say blandly, trying to figure out the best way to explain this.
"There's no such thing as magic." Coco says.
"What?" You say reflexively, staring at her in shock. She actually means it too. You look at the rest of CFVY and see the same certainty in their eyes. "That's not… How could you… Why would you…" You can't help but trail off as you try to come to grips with the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Magic only exists in fairy tales. It's just stories about witches turning people into toads, children falling into other worlds and dragons reviving the dead. Charming little lies we tell children so they don't have to see the real world." Coco says.
"I don't think I've ever heard something so ignorant." You say as you pinch your nose. "Magic is everywhere, in everything." You need to prove this somehow. "Here, catch." You say, tossing your hammer to Coco.
"What do you expect me to do with this?" She asks, holding it at arm's length.
"Look at it. Prove to yourself that there's no hidden mechanism, no battery or dust charge." You say.
Coco does so with a patronising look, examining your weapon of choice. There's no collapsing mechanism there, no bright crystals or clockwork showing. Just a diamond shaped head with specially designed spikes, a solid metal haft, the rune of crushing inscribed on one side and on the other side - Oh.
"What's this?" Coco asks, pointing at the shiny exception to your weapon's simple nature. The mammoth-like skull of a demon, pierced with four swords. A representation of the act that earned you the hammer.
"That's the Righteous Medal of Valour. Awarded to crusaders who slew a demon greater than they. The hammer was a gift for the same act that earned me the medal, since my old hammer shattered in the battle." You say, annoyed at being sidetracked again.
"Elementals, mephits and demons. What else have you fought? Angels? Dragons?" Coco asks mockingly, though you see Fox frown from behind her.
"Mostly just demons." You say, feeling control of the conversation slipping away from you. Before you can try and take control again a bright flash of light interrupts your thoughts.
You turn to Velvet, seeing her box has unfolded to reveal a different box, one with a circle atop it and several protruding pieces of glass. She's pointing it at your hammer and another flash of light is emitted from the top circle as she presses a button.
"What is that?" You ask, pointing at the device.
"Oh, I just wanted to take a few pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little surprised. "I hope you don't mind."
"No, not what are you doing - what is that?" You clarify.
"It's a camera. It takes pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little lost. "Here, see for yourself." She says, turning the device's back to you.
You step closer to her and see the frozen image of your hammer in Coco's hands, perfect in every detail.
"Of course, you can create a flawless image that would put countless painters out of a job, but there's no such thing as magic." You say. You can see Velvet about to explain but stop her with a shake of your head. "Fine, I'll show you." You say, walking over to Coco and taking back your hammer.
"What are you going to do, pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Coco asks. You respond by resting your hammer on the ground and pulling off your gauntlets, taking a moment to lace your fingers together and stretch.
"You will observe that I have nothing up my sleeves." You say in the exact same tone before twisting one hand up and closing it into a fist. In the same moment you speak a few words of Celestial, your voice echoing as a ghost-like hand appears in front of you.
Another incantation creates a second, the two Mage Hands floating down to grasp your hammer and raise it into the air with a careless flick of your wrist. Once it's above your head you let the hands fade, catching your hammer and twirling it as you take a step towards the fence.
As you focus your will and swing your hammer lights up with magic. A dark orange circle forms around the centre of the head as lightning spreads from your hands along the haft. In the circle two runes form the base of a triangle - the Thassilonian rune of the Vengeful Man, looking like two hooked horns and representing wrath, and the celestial rune for the virtue of justice, looking like a sword. At the top of the triangle is a phrase written in flowing elven script, the phrase you speak to enforce your will on the world.
"Summon the storm" is the incantation, echoing as the hammer's head hits the fence. Lightning scorches the wood as it shatters, the magic circle fading the moment you complete your swing.
Shocking Strike, your favourite spell. You turn back to your audience and raise your hammer high. Next comes its companion.
"Command the thunder" you declare as you swing the hammer at the ground, another circle forming as you do. This time there is no lightning. Instead the sound of the hammer falling grows impossibly loud, creating a boom of thunder as your hammer hits the ground and forces CFVY to flinch at the sound.
Thunderous Strike, the same spell you used to down the glabrezu.
"Semblances do one discrete thing, yes? Super speed or telekinesis. So how did I just do that?" You challenge them to respond.
"You could have a semblance for creating storms." Coco suggests, but you can tell she doesn't believe it.
"The hand trick could have been done with hard light dust too." Yatsuhashi says, sounding a lot more doubtful.
"I have spent seven years of my life studying arcane magic. And one of the first lessons of magic is that you do not, cannot, know everything. Accept that there are things you do not understand, things you will never even know you exist. Accept that the world is that much larger and stranger than you've ever considered." You demand, seeing them glance at each other.
"Look at me. I can fly, despite my wings not being large enough to lift my body from the ground." You say, spreading your arms wide. It doesn't take any effort at all to summon your halo, finding it more responsive to your emotions than ever since Amber awakened your aura. "I shine despite lacking a flame or filament."
"Winged faunus can fly because of their aura, even though they have the same issue." Velvet interjects, almost wilting as you blink at her.
"And flying has become much easier for me since I got my aura unlocked." You agree. "But I could fly before that, though you'll have to take my word for it." You pause before deciding on another argument. "Explain Bella then. Ferrets can't talk. They don't have fur that's all the colours of the rainbow and they can't heal with a touch."
That at least stumps them, Fox nodding as you talk and Bella does a handstand to show off. One down, three to go.
"Just keep watching, with an open mind." You say, setting your hammer aside and deciding on another spell. "The three spells I've demonstrated are of the school of evocation. Next I will demonstrate conjuration."
Two dark blue circles appear on your palms as you hold them opposite each other, bearing the runes for sloth, growth, slime and zeal, and spinning in opposite directions as you murmur in celestial.
Blue threads of light spin together to form a vine that starts to ooze sap after a few moments. Instead of flinging it at an enemy you wind around your left arm.
"That is Tanglefoot, a spell designed to slow and harass the foe rather than directly harm them." You explain. "For transmutation I present Humanoid Form."
A wave of your hand across your face and more celestial causes a veil of light to sweep across your body and compact your body down. Your wings vanish and your hair turns the same shade of red that Edrekk has, even as your armour seamlessly shrinks to fit you.
Less than six seconds later your audience is staring at a smirking dwarf in shock. You manage to keep the smug look on your face for only a few seconds before you can't help but shudder.
"Uhh." You groan. "Why didn't I choose to be a strix or something? Losing limbs always feels wrong." You complain.
"Are you okay?" Yatsuhashi asks.
"I'm fine." You say with a barely suppressed wince. "So, evocation, conjuration and transmutation. One more spell would make four out of eight schools shown. Unfortunately the divination spells I prepared aren't what you'd call flashy, so instead I'll have to settle for illusion."
You bring your clean hand to your breast and trace a circle on your armour. It responds by gleaming and vanishing, replaced by a perfect copy of Coco's clothing.
You stand there and let your audience stare for a moment before speaking.
"I am Shayla Barakiel from the world of Golarion. I was raised under the light of Desna's Path*, beneath the moon Somal. I am a mage, a warrior, a crusader a dozen times over. I travelled to Remnant on a divine mission, emerging into the world maybe a hundred feet above us a month ago.
"Call me a liar, a fool, a madwoman. Whatever you like. I'll prove you wrong as many times as it takes." You declare, staring at Coco.
"That's more like it." She says with a grin. "What do you need?"
"Time to work with that." You say, pointing at the elemental's corpse.
"And what do we need to do to be ready?"
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After a brief explanation of elementals, the multiverse and the dangerous inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane** Coco is satisfied, her team giving you the space you need to work on making a tuning fork.
The first thing you do is carve a chunk of the yarn lizard's flesh out and secure it in the crystal vial, confident that even once it loses its form you'll have some small amount of aether to work with.
The essence of Spirit made solid by Mind, Life and Spirit itself, quintessence, or aether, is inherently malleable. It is the material that the Outer Planes and their inhabitants are made of in the same way you are made of Matter.
The only one of the Inner Planes that quintessence can be found upon is the Ethereal Plane. To form a tuning fork from it would normally require hours of carefully manifesting aether on the Material through meditation, precisely manipulating the energies of your soul to give you what you want.
As you already have plenty of quintessence, all you need to do is give it a permanent form without altering its fundamental nature. The form is easy - a tuning fork akin to the one you already possess, though it will need to be longer and thinner. As for its nature…
The Ethereal Plane is one of the transitive planes, a universe full of beings that once existed and things that never will. It is home to ghosts and dreams, to things that yearn for reality as they stare into it, unaware of what the ever present fog hides from them.
Anything can exist there, though it may only last a moment.
With the wand you impose your will on the lizard's aetheric form, causing the threads that make up its skin to run and meld together, condensing and becoming more real as it shrinks. As you do you focus on the sensation of when you first awaken, those strange moments when your dreams haven't faded and you can't remember which reality is true.
The end result is a long narrow fork that seems to be made from tarnished bronze or copper, the natural hue of the metal covered by a green patina.
You tap it against the wand and listen to the eerie note it produces. Perfect.
Only once you rise from a crouch and stretch your back do you realise it's gotten dark while you were working. Dark enough that you get your first proper look at the stars above Remnant.
You can't help but be struck by how far from home you must be. Beneath a shattered moon and alien stars you briefly feel utterly lost.
Then you recognise the patch of darkness that must be Monstra's maw and the studious part of your mind takes over. If that's Monstra then that must be the Wyvern's tail with the Knight below. The Serpent is the obvious ring with a tail and the three triangles are the Hunter's Hounds.
From there you can easily find the Dragon's Eyes, the pole stars of Remnant. Part of you feels personally offended by Cynosure's*** absence, but you already knew that Desna was unknown on Remnant.
You force your mind back to the task at hand before you go for your journal and start drawing star charts. As much as you want to take advantage of the complete lack of light pollution here, the summoner comes first.
Looking around you can see Yatsuhashi standing by the fence, obviously watching over you. Behind him the rest of CFVY have started a fire, presumably planning to set up camp.
"You're finished then?" He asks.
"Definitely." You say, flourishing the fork and being momentarily shocked by the sticky brown sleeve on your arm - right the glamour. And the sap. Not your smartest decision. At least you've got your wings back. "Did anything happen while I was working?"
"Port went back to town so he can send a report with his scroll and the mephit tried to escape a few times." Yatsuhashi reports. "He can breath a dust cloud that really stings, dig a pit with a wave of his hand and blind you with glitter, but he wasn't expecting Fox to just ignore it."
"Expeditious Excavation and Glitterdust. And the breath weapon of course" You guess as you spot the pits. "About what I'd expect from a dust mephit, since they're composed of both earth and air. But if he's a caster then this is a bit more complicated than I thought."
You frown as you walk towards the fire, Yatsuhashi following behind you. You'd dismissed the idea without thinking about it before, but Ochrevena or another mephit could be the mastermind. It's uncommon for mephits to develop their spellcasting beyond the basics, but Ochrevena has definitely started to do that if he can cast glitterdust.
The poor prisoner has been thoroughly immobilised, his arms and legs bound together and his wings somehow stuck to the half buried boulder Coco is sitting on. He looks thoroughly resigned to his fate by now as his captors cheerfully dig into their dinner.
"Are we good to go?" Coco asks when she spots you.
"I've got the tuning fork but there's a few things I should probably warn you about first." You respond. "The Ethereal Plane doesn't really have gravity, terrain or solid ground like you're used to and you guys can't fly, which could make things tricky."
"So we'll be falling sideways but there won't be anything for us to collide with?" Fox asks.
"Not exactly. Maybe I should explain this once we're on the Ethereal Plane, it won't make much sense until then." You admit. "Also when dealing with a spellcaster you should really gag them so they can't manage any verbal components."
As you point at Ochrevena the mephit glares at you, snarling something in the grinding tones of Terran and twitching his fingers.
You can't help but laugh at how unintimidating the little guy is, falling to your knees as the cackles steal the breath away from you.
You can see the others reacting out of the corner of your eye as Ochrevena casts something else and vanishes, presumably teleporting away since the rope is left behind and can't stop laughing at their confusion.
You start to get control of yourself as the grass and earth beneath you turns into sticky, sucking mud. You struggle to your feet as you sink into the mud, seeing Ochrevena hovering above you and laughing at your plight.
"Know children that your valiant struggle against the inevitable victory of the Seigneur of Sienna will soon be over. Try as you might, the Oneiric Obstacle outwitted you long ago." He gloats dramatically.
"What's happening?" Fox asks. You frown as you look around, seeing even Coco is struggling against the mud, despite still sitting on the boulder and barely touching the dirt.
That doesn't make much sense, someone should have been able to get free by now. And you just got hit with Hideous Laughter, which means Ochrevena isn't restricted to elemental spells.
"It's an illusion! Oneiric Mire just makes you think there's a quicksand bog!" You yell.
"Your irksome intellect shall hardly help! My mighty master's needs demand your demise." Ochrevena declares.
You close your eyes and focus, shutting out both Ochrevena's words and the sensation of sinking into the mud, instead beating your winds and leaping straight up.
The conflicting sensations from your legs and wings almost make you spiral into the ground, but it gets you into the air.
Ochrevena snarls at you, only for a colossal ghostly hand to tear through the air and grab Ochrevena, leaving the mephit barely visible beneath the claws.
As fast as it appeared the hand pulls backwards and vanishes, taking Ochrevena with it. The illusory bog fades away as you let yourself drop, leaving the five of you too try and gather your wits.
"What was that?" Velvet asks.
"I don't know, some sort of giant?" You guess. "But I don't think there are any giants known to live on the Ethereal."
=================================
The dust mephit was stolen from your grasp. What course of action are you going to advocate for?
[ ] Use the tuning fork to immediately go after him (Coco's plan)
[ ] Go get Professor Port and cross over to the Ethereal in town (Velvet's plan)
[ ] Wait until morning to head to the Ethereal so you're all at your best (Fox's plan)
[ ] Write In
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*One of several names for the galaxy Golarion resides in, named for the goddess Desna who created the stars and how the galaxy seemingly leads the eye to Cynosure, the pole star and Desna's divine realm
**Ghosts, ether spiders and animated dreams are the best known inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane, but far more dangerous are the ethereal stalkers, who kidnap people to implant their young into, the sahkils, fiends who embody human phobias, and the night hags, who feed on souls through nightmares.
***Cynosure is the pole star of Golarion and the divine realm of Desna, goddess of dreams, travelers and the night sky. Many on Golarion believe that it serves as the pole star on all worlds because of Desna's role as goddess of the night sky and creator of the stars.
=================================
Your spells have all recharged since you showed them off, so you don't need to worry about being useless if you go after Ochrevena. As always, ask any questions that come to mind.
So you won't be able to get the ostensible Ostentatious Ochrevena to talk about his summoner anytime soon. You don't know enough about dust mephits to guess at the best approach, nor would be comfortable threatening him.
He isn't a demon and you won't treat him like one.
Instead you'll focus on something that will lead you to the summoner without having to worry about anyone's opinion. Something you only have a limited time to achieve.
A tuning fork is the key component of the Plane Shift spell, allowing the caster to target a teleportation spell across the undefined infinities of separate universes without ever having been to the destination themselves. But they're useful for so much more than that.
With the quintessence that the 'yarn lizard' is made of you could make a tuning fork attuned to the Ethereal Plane and easily track down the rift between planes the elementals have been using - or reopen the rift you originally came through.
Hidden in an inner pocket of your pack is a tuning fork you took from Fethrymil's study, one attuned to the Material Plane, specifically Golarion. You could use it to navigate the Deep Ethereal to find your way back home, or to teleport directly there from another plane with the Plane Shift spell - or as a guide on how to craft another.
"I'm going to need you to put the elemental down and step back. I've never done this before, so there's a non-zero chance I hit some kind of resonant frequency and blow it up." You say to Yatsuhashi as you crouch down and sort through your supplies.
You'll need the ash wand, the crystal vial and the tuning fork. When you pull them out you can't help but rub the caged circle that represents your home before standing, seeing that Yatsuhashi hasn't moved,
"You want to hold your horses and tell the rest of us what the hell you're doing?" Coco cuts in, Yatsuhashi stopping with the corpse now awkwardly cradled in his arms.
"I can use the quintessence of the elemental's body to create a tuning fork that resonates with the Ethereal Plane. That will let us travel to the Ethereal Plane and track down the summoner." You explain.
"You know that sounds like nonsense right? I get that you apparently know about all of this, but we don't. And since this is our mission I'm going to have to insist on you filling us in before I decide what we do next." Coco says angrily.
You take a moment to examine the yarn lizard's corpse as you consider the time frame you're working with. It's dissolving, yes, but not that fast. Unless it's just going to vanish all at once when it reaches some kind of critical threshold you have more than enough time to talk before getting to work.
"Wait, why didn't you tell them anything?" You ask Bella, realising that you shouldn't have to do this. "You've had hours to explain everything while I was out here."
"I thought we were meant to keep it a secret." Your familiar reminds you with an innocent look. "That's what Ozpin asked."
"Technically Glynda was the one who asked us to lie low and that was about not letting people see us at the school. Which you deliberately ignored." You complain.
"So did you. And magic in general is a secret here." Bella argues.
"A specific type of magic is a secret here. That doesn't justify not telling someone about elementals and where they come from when they've already fought them." You respond. Sometimes it feels like Bella's deliberately trying to frustrate you.
Or maybe you're just frustrating yourself.
"You're saying these things are magical?" Coco asks, unimpressed.
"I think she's saying that she's magic." Fox adds.
"I am a spellcaster, yes. The creatures Velvet and Yatsuhashi fought are magical beings from another plane of existence that almost definitely arrived here through magic and we're going to need to find another spellcaster to find out why he's doing any of this." You say blandly, trying to figure out the best way to explain this.
"There's no such thing as magic." Coco says.
"What?" You say reflexively, staring at her in shock. She actually means it too. You look at the rest of CFVY and see the same certainty in their eyes. "That's not… How could you… Why would you…" You can't help but trail off as you try to come to grips with the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Magic only exists in fairy tales. It's just stories about witches turning people into toads, children falling into other worlds and dragons reviving the dead. Charming little lies we tell children so they don't have to see the real world." Coco says.
"I don't think I've ever heard something so ignorant." You say as you pinch your nose. "Magic is everywhere, in everything." You need to prove this somehow. "Here, catch." You say, tossing your hammer to Coco.
"What do you expect me to do with this?" She asks, holding it at arm's length.
"Look at it. Prove to yourself that there's no hidden mechanism, no battery or dust charge." You say.
Coco does so with a patronising look, examining your weapon of choice. There's no collapsing mechanism there, no bright crystals or clockwork showing. Just a diamond shaped head with specially designed spikes, a solid metal haft, the rune of crushing inscribed on one side and on the other side - Oh.
"What's this?" Coco asks, pointing at the shiny exception to your weapon's simple nature. The mammoth-like skull of a demon, pierced with four swords. A representation of the act that earned you the hammer.
"That's the Righteous Medal of Valour. Awarded to crusaders who slew a demon greater than they. The hammer was a gift for the same act that earned me the medal, since my old hammer shattered in the battle." You say, annoyed at being sidetracked again.
"Elementals, mephits and demons. What else have you fought? Angels? Dragons?" Coco asks mockingly, though you see Fox frown from behind her.
"Mostly just demons." You say, feeling control of the conversation slipping away from you. Before you can try and take control again a bright flash of light interrupts your thoughts.
You turn to Velvet, seeing her box has unfolded to reveal a different box, one with a circle atop it and several protruding pieces of glass. She's pointing it at your hammer and another flash of light is emitted from the top circle as she presses a button.
"What is that?" You ask, pointing at the device.
"Oh, I just wanted to take a few pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little surprised. "I hope you don't mind."
"No, not what are you doing - what is that?" You clarify.
"It's a camera. It takes pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little lost. "Here, see for yourself." She says, turning the device's back to you.
You step closer to her and see the frozen image of your hammer in Coco's hands, perfect in every detail.
"Of course, you can create a flawless image that would put countless painters out of a job, but there's no such thing as magic." You say. You can see Velvet about to explain but stop her with a shake of your head. "Fine, I'll show you." You say, walking over to Coco and taking back your hammer.
"What are you going to do, pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Coco asks. You respond by resting your hammer on the ground and pulling off your gauntlets, taking a moment to lace your fingers together and stretch.
"You will observe that I have nothing up my sleeves." You say in the exact same tone before twisting one hand up and closing it into a fist. In the same moment you speak a few words of Celestial, your voice echoing as a ghost-like hand appears in front of you.
Another incantation creates a second, the two Mage Hands floating down to grasp your hammer and raise it into the air with a careless flick of your wrist. Once it's above your head you let the hands fade, catching your hammer and twirling it as you take a step towards the fence.
As you focus your will and swing your hammer lights up with magic. A dark orange circle forms around the centre of the head as lightning spreads from your hands along the haft. In the circle two runes form the base of a triangle - the Thassilonian rune of the Vengeful Man, looking like two hooked horns and representing wrath, and the celestial rune for the virtue of justice, looking like a sword. At the top of the triangle is a phrase written in flowing elven script, the phrase you speak to enforce your will on the world.
"Summon the storm" is the incantation, echoing as the hammer's head hits the fence. Lightning scorches the wood as it shatters, the magic circle fading the moment you complete your swing.
Shocking Strike, your favourite spell. You turn back to your audience and raise your hammer high. Next comes its companion.
"Command the thunder" you declare as you swing the hammer at the ground, another circle forming as you do. This time there is no lightning. Instead the sound of the hammer falling grows impossibly loud, creating a boom of thunder as your hammer hits the ground and forces CFVY to flinch at the sound.
Thunderous Strike, the same spell you used to down the glabrezu.
"Semblances do one discrete thing, yes? Super speed or telekinesis. So how did I just do that?" You challenge them to respond.
"You could have a semblance for creating storms." Coco suggests, but you can tell she doesn't believe it.
"The hand trick could have been done with hard light dust too." Yatsuhashi says, sounding a lot more doubtful.
"I have spent seven years of my life studying arcane magic. And one of the first lessons of magic is that you do not, cannot, know everything. Accept that there are things you do not understand, things you will never even know you exist. Accept that the world is that much larger and stranger than you've ever considered." You demand, seeing them glance at each other.
"Look at me. I can fly, despite my wings not being large enough to lift my body from the ground." You say, spreading your arms wide. It doesn't take any effort at all to summon your halo, finding it more responsive to your emotions than ever since Amber awakened your aura. "I shine despite lacking a flame or filament."
"Winged faunus can fly because of their aura, even though they have the same issue." Velvet interjects, almost wilting as you blink at her.
"And flying has become much easier for me since I got my aura unlocked." You agree. "But I could fly before that, though you'll have to take my word for it." You pause before deciding on another argument. "Explain Bella then. Ferrets can't talk. They don't have fur that's all the colours of the rainbow and they can't heal with a touch."
That at least stumps them, Fox nodding as you talk and Bella does a handstand to show off. One down, three to go.
"Just keep watching, with an open mind." You say, setting your hammer aside and deciding on another spell. "The three spells I've demonstrated are of the school of evocation. Next I will demonstrate conjuration."
Two dark blue circles appear on your palms as you hold them opposite each other, bearing the runes for sloth, growth, slime and zeal, and spinning in opposite directions as you murmur in celestial.
Blue threads of light spin together to form a vine that starts to ooze sap after a few moments. Instead of flinging it at an enemy you wind around your left arm.
"That is Tanglefoot, a spell designed to slow and harass the foe rather than directly harm them." You explain. "For transmutation I present Humanoid Form."
A wave of your hand across your face and more celestial causes a veil of light to sweep across your body and compact your body down. Your wings vanish and your hair turns the same shade of red that Edrekk has, even as your armour seamlessly shrinks to fit you.
Less than six seconds later your audience is staring at a smirking dwarf in shock. You manage to keep the smug look on your face for only a few seconds before you can't help but shudder.
"Uhh." You groan. "Why didn't I choose to be a strix or something? Losing limbs always feels wrong." You complain.
"Are you okay?" Yatsuhashi asks.
"I'm fine." You say with a barely suppressed wince. "So, evocation, conjuration and transmutation. One more spell would make four out of eight schools shown. Unfortunately the divination spells I prepared aren't what you'd call flashy, so instead I'll have to settle for illusion."
You bring your clean hand to your breast and trace a circle on your armour. It responds by gleaming and vanishing, replaced by a perfect copy of Coco's clothing.
You stand there and let your audience stare for a moment before speaking.
"I am Shayla Barakiel from the world of Golarion. I was raised under the light of Desna's Path*, beneath the moon Somal. I am a mage, a warrior, a crusader a dozen times over. I travelled to Remnant on a divine mission, emerging into the world maybe a hundred feet above us a month ago.
"Call me a liar, a fool, a madwoman. Whatever you like. I'll prove you wrong as many times as it takes." You declare, staring at Coco.
"That's more like it." She says with a grin. "What do you need?"
"Time to work with that." You say, pointing at the elemental's corpse.
"And what do we need to do to be ready?"
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After a brief explanation of elementals, the multiverse and the dangerous inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane** Coco is satisfied, her team giving you the space you need to work on making a tuning fork.
The first thing you do is carve a chunk of the yarn lizard's flesh out and secure it in the crystal vial, confident that even once it loses its form you'll have some small amount of aether to work with.
The essence of Spirit made solid by Mind, Life and Spirit itself, quintessence, or aether, is inherently malleable. It is the material that the Outer Planes and their inhabitants are made of in the same way you are made of Matter.
The only one of the Inner Planes that quintessence can be found upon is the Ethereal Plane. To form a tuning fork from it would normally require hours of carefully manifesting aether on the Material through meditation, precisely manipulating the energies of your soul to give you what you want.
As you already have plenty of quintessence, all you need to do is give it a permanent form without altering its fundamental nature. The form is easy - a tuning fork akin to the one you already possess, though it will need to be longer and thinner. As for its nature…
The Ethereal Plane is one of the transitive planes, a universe full of beings that once existed and things that never will. It is home to ghosts and dreams, to things that yearn for reality as they stare into it, unaware of what the ever present fog hides from them.
Anything can exist there, though it may only last a moment.
With the wand you impose your will on the lizard's aetheric form, causing the threads that make up its skin to run and meld together, condensing and becoming more real as it shrinks. As you do you focus on the sensation of when you first awaken, those strange moments when your dreams haven't faded and you can't remember which reality is true.
The end result is a long narrow fork that seems to be made from tarnished bronze or copper, the natural hue of the metal covered by a green patina.
You tap it against the wand and listen to the eerie note it produces. Perfect.
Only once you rise from a crouch and stretch your back do you realise it's gotten dark while you were working. Dark enough that you get your first proper look at the stars above Remnant.
You can't help but be struck by how far from home you must be. Beneath a shattered moon and alien stars you briefly feel utterly lost.
Then you recognise the patch of darkness that must be Monstra's maw and the studious part of your mind takes over. If that's Monstra then that must be the Wyvern's tail with the Knight below. The Serpent is the obvious ring with a tail and the three triangles are the Hunter's Hounds.
From there you can easily find the Dragon's Eyes, the pole stars of Remnant. Part of you feels personally offended by Cynosure's*** absence, but you already knew that Desna was unknown on Remnant.
You force your mind back to the task at hand before you go for your journal and start drawing star charts. As much as you want to take advantage of the complete lack of light pollution here, the summoner comes first.
Looking around you can see Yatsuhashi standing by the fence, obviously watching over you. Behind him the rest of CFVY have started a fire, presumably planning to set up camp.
"You're finished then?" He asks.
"Definitely." You say, flourishing the fork and being momentarily shocked by the sticky brown sleeve on your arm - right the glamour. And the sap. Not your smartest decision. At least you've got your wings back. "Did anything happen while I was working?"
"Port went back to town so he can send a report with his scroll and the mephit tried to escape a few times." Yatsuhashi reports. "He can breath a dust cloud that really stings, dig a pit with a wave of his hand and blind you with glitter, but he wasn't expecting Fox to just ignore it."
"Expeditious Excavation and Glitterdust. And the breath weapon of course" You guess as you spot the pits. "About what I'd expect from a dust mephit, since they're composed of both earth and air. But if he's a caster then this is a bit more complicated than I thought."
You frown as you walk towards the fire, Yatsuhashi following behind you. You'd dismissed the idea without thinking about it before, but Ochrevena or another mephit could be the mastermind. It's uncommon for mephits to develop their spellcasting beyond the basics, but Ochrevena has definitely started to do that if he can cast glitterdust.
The poor prisoner has been thoroughly immobilised, his arms and legs bound together and his wings somehow stuck to the half buried boulder Coco is sitting on. He looks thoroughly resigned to his fate by now as his captors cheerfully dig into their dinner.
"Are we good to go?" Coco asks when she spots you.
"I've got the tuning fork but there's a few things I should probably warn you about first." You respond. "The Ethereal Plane doesn't really have gravity, terrain or solid ground like you're used to and you guys can't fly, which could make things tricky."
"So we'll be falling sideways but there won't be anything for us to collide with?" Fox asks.
"Not exactly. Maybe I should explain this once we're on the Ethereal Plane, it won't make much sense until then." You admit. "Also when dealing with a spellcaster you should really gag them so they can't manage any verbal components."
As you point at Ochrevena the mephit glares at you, snarling something in the grinding tones of Terran and twitching his fingers.
You can't help but laugh at how unintimidating the little guy is, falling to your knees as the cackles steal the breath away from you.
You can see the others reacting out of the corner of your eye as Ochrevena casts something else and vanishes, presumably teleporting away since the rope is left behind and can't stop laughing at their confusion.
You start to get control of yourself as the grass and earth beneath you turns into sticky, sucking mud. You struggle to your feet as you sink into the mud, seeing Ochrevena hovering above you and laughing at your plight.
"Know children that your valiant struggle against the inevitable victory of the Seigneur of Sienna will soon be over. Try as you might, the Oneiric Obstacle outwitted you long ago." He gloats dramatically.
"What's happening?" Fox asks. You frown as you look around, seeing even Coco is struggling against the mud, despite still sitting on the boulder and barely touching the dirt.
That doesn't make much sense, someone should have been able to get free by now. And you just got hit with Hideous Laughter, which means Ochrevena isn't restricted to elemental spells.
"It's an illusion! Oneiric Mire just makes you think there's a quicksand bog!" You yell.
"Your irksome intellect shall hardly help! My mighty master's needs demand your demise." Ochrevena declares.
You close your eyes and focus, shutting out both Ochrevena's words and the sensation of sinking into the mud, instead beating your winds and leaping straight up.
The conflicting sensations from your legs and wings almost make you spiral into the ground, but it gets you into the air.
Ochrevena snarls at you, only for a colossal ghostly hand to tear through the air and grab Ochrevena, leaving the mephit barely visible beneath the claws.
As fast as it appeared the hand pulls backwards and vanishes, taking Ochrevena with it. The illusory bog fades away as you let yourself drop, leaving the five of you too try and gather your wits.
"What was that?" Velvet asks.
"I don't know, some sort of giant?" You guess. "But I don't think there are any giants known to live on the Ethereal."
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The dust mephit was stolen from your grasp. What course of action are you going to advocate for?
[ ] Use the tuning fork to immediately go after him (Coco's plan)
[ ] Go get Professor Port and cross over to the Ethereal in town (Velvet's plan)
[ ] Wait until morning to head to the Ethereal so you're all at your best (Fox's plan)
[ ] Write In
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Knowledge: The Great Beyond
Bonus: 2 (Gods and the Great Beyond)
DC: 10 + 9 (Esoteric) + 2 (Brief Glimpse) = 21
Roll: 15 + 2
Result: Failure
Bonus: 2 (Gods and the Great Beyond)
DC: 10 + 9 (Esoteric) + 2 (Brief Glimpse) = 21
Roll: 15 + 2
Result: Failure
*One of several names for the galaxy Golarion resides in, named for the goddess Desna who created the stars and how the galaxy seemingly leads the eye to Cynosure, the pole star and Desna's divine realm
**Ghosts, ether spiders and animated dreams are the best known inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane, but far more dangerous are the ethereal stalkers, who kidnap people to implant their young into, the sahkils, fiends who embody human phobias, and the night hags, who feed on souls through nightmares.
***Cynosure is the pole star of Golarion and the divine realm of Desna, goddess of dreams, travelers and the night sky. Many on Golarion believe that it serves as the pole star on all worlds because of Desna's role as goddess of the night sky and creator of the stars.
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Your spells have all recharged since you showed them off, so you don't need to worry about being useless if you go after Ochrevena. As always, ask any questions that come to mind.
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