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Turn 2
Turn 2 (VIII 8-VIII 17)

[X] Ma-thil

"You are a what, sir?"

"A Bladelord, good mage. Protector of the White Tower, of the Loremasters, and of the Archmages. Trained with Hoeth's weapons themselves. We are leaders among the Swordmasters." His eyes widen a bit. "How…how long have you been working?"

You examine him closely, examining him for even the slightest sign of mockery, of derision, of insult.

And you find none of it. Only genuine concern. "Apparently too long, Methelian Bladelord. I know of Swordmasters, of course, but to regard them as a unified body rather than a warrior given the acclaim by outsiders, or trained by his family." And then something does not quite click, per-se, but a thought comes to you: You doubt they are only warriors, if they have been subtle enough that you missed everything (and yes, they were being subtle).

"In any case, there is other, yet more news to come; but I shall leave that to others, I think; a party was coming here aside from me and mine." Unprompted you pass the white-hilted, silver-brown blade over to Methelian, lest you should have it at hand if it is who you think it is making their way home. "Have you named it?"

He examines it gingerly, and you swear you can hear the blade hum as he takes it in hand. It is no true marvel, nothing worthy of song and glory (yet), not the great thing of a master; but it is yours and it is your magic, and so it merits, at the least, a name. "Ma-Thil, Silver Savage. For in times of need it shall suffuse you with such strength as to allow you to cast down the enemy as a great predator casts down its prey to survive, even when faced with the greatest of foes. It sacrifices duration for strength however; I would not say it is impossible that it might strengthen a blow after you spend it, but I would rely on it as I would rely on the wisdom of Haclad."

"Understood." He examines the sword, tall as you are, silent for a moment.

And then he launches himself into a kata, a flurry of movements as the blade moves like the right word in some courtly lay, always exactly where it needs to be and just as sharp. He spins and twirls too fast even for your eyes to see, his blue and white armor jingling as he goes like the beating of a bell so pure and sweet. He slashes and swirls, cuts and kicks, thrusts and pirouettes, never, ever slow enough for somebody to attack with any hope of success.

Finally with one horizontal cut he blows out one of the aromatic candles and then rises, controlled and in command of himself. He bows his head slightly in recognition and thanks. "Rare have I seen its equal, rare still its superior. I thank you, Vardanis Mage; and when men speak of you, I shall speak too."

Ah.

Vindication (and that is all, definitely, that is—)

(+1 Loremaster of Hoeth Standing, +10 Loremaster of Hoeth favors)

There comes a knock on your door. And in that moment, you feel a dread as you have never known.

"She is here."

And then there is a bang as your mother enters the room. With large turquoise eyes and big, intricately braided and woven hair like wheat fields shimmering in the sunlight, she certainly fits in with her family by marriage: once a simple farm girl, she had seen your father traveling through the woods and was smitten and over years, with treasure and victory, captured his hand in marriage.

That was her.

Big deeds.

Big her, for that matter, broad of shoulder and tall, taller than you, your brother or even your sister. Her armor is big, heavy well articulated lamellar and plate, thick enough that even the "Magic" or Runesmiths won't do a damn thing to it, lightly enchanted to make sure of that as well. Her cape is a long, billowing thing and grasped in her hand is the longest, heaviest ax you can imagine, tall as her and with a vicious, if simple, head, designed to cleave through even Dwarf armor like so much air.

But when it comes to the little things…

"Son!" She races forward and picks you and up and spins you around like when you were a callower youth of five, ten years, so very far from your destiny, before kissing you on the cheek. "I've missed you!"

She lacks an eye for detail.

"Then why didn't you come to Saphery?"

The only noise to be heard is the crackle of the forge's fire before she sighs.

(As you soothed your focus last turn, all 5 AP are freely movable)

Requests and Commissions

[] Finding the Source: You have determined that something is poisoning the creatures in the Annuliis with Warpstone, making them both lesser but much, much more aggressive and considering some of the monstrosities that come out of that place that's saying something. While with proper warning and adequate precautions the farmers are well able to handle the beasts, even poisoned with Warpstone, something does not sit right; you need to find the source. Exceedingly likely to be dangerous. ((0/5-1 from overflow equal 0/4), Gain House Snowmane Standing, Gain House Snowmane Favors, Gain Chrace Standing, Gain Chrace Favors, Procs Beastly Mind, May overflow)

[] Arming the March: The Long March always, always, always needs more weapons, more armor, more everything for its soldiers: not everyone can march to war armed with Wyraza Drengul, after all. It would please all of Chrace to show your wealth and power by sending yet more enchanted weapons out, though you lack the supplies for more advanced construction as yet. (Requires at least 1 AP, Chrace Standing, Favors)

[] Coronating the King: The new Phoenix King, Aethis, is a poet and an artist and so poetry and artistry you shall offer him as he journeys throughout the kingdoms to celebrate his coronation, bringing light and life and sound with him from one end of Ulthuan to another; though of course all will pale in comparison to Chrace's wild works. Create something to honor him. (Requires at least 1 AP, Saphery Standing, Favors, Loremaster Standing, Favors, Archmage Standing, Favors)
Research & Development

[] Stellar Seeker: To be reduced to primal Elementalism like some…fumbling child! It is a disgrace and an embarrassment and you will tolerate it no longer! You will grow to understand the Heavens, to fully understand Azyr, even if you have to forge the damn telescope and grind the damn glass yourself! (0/3 Progress, may Overflow, unlocks Cardinal Magical Comprehension of Azyr, unlocks further developing comprehension for other winds, Activates Sky Seeker)

[] The Art of the Blade: To be a Loremaster, one must master the sword, at the least a bastard sword though truly mighty two-handed blades that require the grip of both are growing more and more popular. Furthermore you must forge your own blade. While it is a sign that one desires to become a Loremaster, it is hardly unknown for others to learn their art. (0/3, does not lock you into the path of the Loremaster, is however a step on it, -10 favors)

[] The Art of Two: To properly mingle together two Winds is an even more arduous task than merely to develop in such a way that you can wield any of the eight Winds. You can theoretically mingle together two neighboring Winds, such as Ghur and Hysh, for their mindsets are close enough; however two oppositional or orthogonal Winds evade you as yet. The Archmages know the secret, though so do many Loremasters for all they are more likely to study the Eight Winds separately. (0/3, Unlocked thanks to gaining standing and favors, does not lock you onto the path of the Archmage, is however a step on it, -10 Favors)

[] The Runestone: The Shadowlanders keep a tight grip on their Runestones but even they cannot fault you for examining what was taken from the Druchii. Strange, arcane stones bearing symbols of power in Eltharin, they are most notably used by Nagarythian mages, Shadow Weavers, to help them dispel the magic of the enemy and that is something you are not uninterested in. (0/3, Proce Ancient Embers, may overflow)

[] The Vial: Your wayward kin, the Druchii are not overly skilled alchemists; but there is a brutal effectiveness to whatever concoction the enemy makes use of. Cheating with Warpstone it might be, but it works and victory is not everything but there is something to be said for drying your tears on a winner's wreath. If nothing else, it might help you cure whatever has happened to the poor creatures. (0/3, Soothes Focus, Proc Ancient Embers, May Overflow)

Social

[] Vardanis speaks to his parents.

[] You speak to Merel about home, since he has been there more often

[] You speak to Fhiron about the outside world, and the Long March

Moratorium for roughly ~24 hours, getting vote ready now.
 
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One thing I would recommend would be getting Finding the Source done this turn. Beastly Mind means we can have it wrapped up in 3 AP.

Other than that, the two that seem the most pertinent are investing two actions either in Stellar Seeker or in Crowning the King. The former, for shoring up weaknesses, and the later, for the spread of standing and favor gains we stand to get.
 
Ok, we probably should get an update on our cumulative standings somewhere. Perhaps on the character sheet? It would be good to have some reference points.
 
Focus

All Elves are a passionate, focused group, even obssessive in the worst of cases: the Long March, Arathion's single minded determination to restore the Dragon Armour of Aenarion, and Malekith's grasping, reaching, bloody desire for Ulthuan all stem from this same source. Vardanis is relatively mild in his case: he can put aside his Focus, for a time, to work on some other, potentially more immediately important, work but at the end of the day he has projects and obsessions, as any elf should. If they are not worked on he will get twitchy and irritable until eventually sacrificing the possibility of some other work. The longer he has gone without doing work related to a focus, the greater the odds of a meltdown wherein Vardanis will take a certain amount of AP and do some work to soothe said Focus. For the sake of all our sanity, this will happen in Turns proper rather than Turn results: He knows himself well enough to keep from making a promise then failing to keep it.
 
Ugh. So many things to do.

We probably should do Finding the Source since we can complete it for 3 Actions, but we really want to do all three of Stellar Seeker, The Art of the Blade and The Art of Two, and may want to invest in the coronation this turn while we can...so much stuff we really want.
 
Focus

The longer he has gone without doing work related to a focus, the greater the odds of a meltdown wherein Vardanis will take a certain amount of AP and do some work to soothe said Focus. For the sake of all our sanity, this will happen in Turns proper rather than Turn results: He knows himself well enough to keep from making a promise then failing to keep it.

Do we already have a focus or will we choose it?
 
The fugue state the MC was in is a little worrying but it's pretty natural in Elves and Dwarves and even more so for Mages/Runelords.

The MC's Mom is apparently a badass who was able to marry his dad while coming from common roots by sheer virtue of being a badass.
The MC's relationship with his mother is telling, given his comment about her being bad with details and her not coming to see him in Saphery. I guess she has neglected him to focus on her obsession, that may also be where his awareness towards his own Focus comes from.
 
[] Finding the Source: You have determined that something is poisoning the creatures in the Annuliis with Warpstone, making them both lesser but much, much more aggressive and considering some of the monstrosities that come out of that place that's saying something. While with proper warning and adequate precautions the farmers are well able to handle the beasts, even poisoned with Warpstone, something does not sit right; you need to find the source. Exceedingly likely to be dangerous. ((0/5-1 from overflow equal 0/4), Gain House Snowmane Standing, Gain House Snowmane Favors, Gain Chrace Standing, Gain Chrace Favors, Procs Beastly Mind, May overflow)

While this might be the most obvious option; allowing us to invest 3 AP and proc Beastly Mind to ultimately finish it...

[] The Vial: Your wayward kin, the Druchii are not overly skilled alchemists; but there is a brutal effectiveness to whatever concoction the enemy makes use of. Cheating with Warpstone it might be, but it works and victory is not everything but there is something to be said for drying your tears on a winner's wreath. If nothing else, it might help you cure whatever has happened to the poor creatures. (0/3, Soothes Focus, Proc Ancient Embers, May Overflow)

We could also do this by investing 3 AP and proc Ancient Embers and get an extra 1 progress in overflow; which given the relation between these action may affect Finding the Source. After all finding the source may mean nothing if you don't have a solution.

It would also soothe are focus, but we've already done that last turn so we may want to space soothing our focus out. Still a point to consider.

We could only do one or the other though; otherwise if we had 6 AP I'd advocate strongly to invest in both at the same time for synergy.

Edit: I think we should do one of these.

[] Plan Finding the Phoenix King
-[] Finding the Source: 3AP + Procs Beastly Mind
-[] Coronating the King: 2AP

[] Plan Phoenix King in a Vial
-[] Coronating the King: 2AP
-[] The Vial: 3AP + Procs Ancient Embers
 
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[] Plan: The Source of Many Starts
-[] Finding the Source (3 AP)
-[] Coronating the King (1 AP)
-[] Stellar Seeker (1 AP)
-[] You speak to Fhiron about the outside world, and the Long March

So my thinking is we do Finding the Source, Coronating the King and accept a partial start on Stellar Seeker. At least this way, on Turn 3 we can finish it with the remaining 2 AP and then have a full 3 leftover to pour into another Research project. Mind you, we could do the full 3 AP on Stellar Seeker in Turn 3 and then put the other 2 on the Long March... but well, presenting all options.
 
[] Plan Phoenix King in a Vial
-[] Coronating the King: 2AP
-[] The Vial: 3AP + Procs Ancient Embers

Yeah I think I agree with this one the most, figuring out the vial seems like it'll help us with Finding the Source, which is not necessarily something we need to do now, and it lets us put extra AP towards the King action, which I also think should be either a significant investment or nothing at all. Nobody said we're required to give the new king a gift, but everybody's gonna notice if we half-ass it and our gift is total shit. Plus hey, getting the attention of the Phoenix King seems quite useful for the future
 
[] Plan Finding the Phoenix King
-[] Finding the Source: 3AP + Procs Beastly Mind
-[] Coronating the King: 2AP

Would prefer to know what we're dealing with before we research fixing it.

[] Vardanis speaks to his parents.

Edit; oops, voting not open
 
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