Warhammer 30K roleplay IC

[The Froggy Ninja]

From his mountaintop he saw the figures waving the signs carrying scraps of the manifesto he had penned decades ago somehow recovered from the fire that he had burned the thing within. Men and women were being twisted once more by his work and yet, the women that had found her way to him stood silently seemingly uncaring and he felt pain as he knew just how much harm he had done to her and the others like her.

Click to shrink...

This was concerning at best. While Samanthony was able to achieve a state of enlightenment from her trials, there is no guarantee that others will accomplish similar feats of self actualization, rather than self-destruction.

Still, I have learned the lesson of my previous folly. It is not my place to stand high and dictate the future of my fellow humans. I must further my understanding of the soul and the Truth before deciding what to do.

2 Years - Raise Soul Construction to Tertiary
1 Grand - Raise Philosophy and Soul Construction
1 Grand - 540 progress on Psychology Research (Basic Human Analysis, Human Psychological Boundaries, Cultural Shaping on Human Minds, Limits of Sanity, Recovery of Sanity, Primary Cultural Archetypes, Behavioral Patterns, Expanding Human Sanity, Impact of Cultural Archetypes on Insanity, Cultural Progression Modeling, Principles of Insanity Recovery, Cultural Faultline Analysis and Cultural Recovery of Insanity) 11 psych research left over.

Spoiler: Research

Philosophy: 24 (Core)*1.5(Narrow)=36
Soul Construction: 24 (Core)*1.5(Narrow)=36
Subtotal: 72
Grand Action x7.5
Total: 72*7.5=540

 

[Chroniqler]

She turned to look at him with pleading eyes, "If you assist me in this I will set aside the majority of its combat skills if you wish to partake of them. and a special gift an intuitive understanding of my home. You would be able to know it as if you were one of my kin, without the ages of pain and strife that it would take you to naturally gain the wisdom. For my part I seek its magic of flame and blood, along with its mastery of battle command. Will you assist me in this attempt to improve myself Sophos?"

Click to shrink...

The stars danced in Sophos' eyes - an indecipherable but absolute indication that they were being rolled. "Crystial, I rather expect that you would find a way to do this no matter my involvement. My job is not to approve or disapprove, but to protect you from the risks of impulsiveness and ensure that you do not harm yourself or others in the process of doing this. However," he held a finger up to indicate that things were not simply going to begin, "I still have questions. Particularly regarding your insistence that I also consume parts of this malignant ideoform. The first being that this is a malignant ideoform, formed of broken and inhumane concepts, bent toward aggression and hostility. I am aware that I am likely not vulnerable to the madness that Engram Euphrates experienced upon the consumption of a psion's soul, but just because I can semi-safely take into myself immaterial concepts does not mean that those concepts are, themselves, safe to integrate. Just as normal people must concern themselves with avoiding the consumption of foods that have spoiled, or materials that are intrinsically poisonous, I want to make absolutely certain that anything I would consume would not have deleterious effects upon my body, mind, and soul. I have no desire to be reshaped in this beast's image. My self and selfhood is sacrosanct, and I will not agree to anything that might risk them.
"My second concern: you have now mentioned a... 'Korn', that this entity was - or is - bound to. And as this thing is, by its nature, conceptual, I have little doubt that that binding is, itself, built into its being. I have no desire to be bound to the same ruling entity as this and its ilk. My loyalties are to Olympia and my family, and I will not agree to anything that may compel me to work against them.
"And my final concern... you offer to let me know the psionic plane as you do. But I know that that ocean of the unconscious storms with chaotic thoughts, and I cannot afford to drown in them. My people rely upon me to know the ways of reality, to lead them in how to wield them to touch ever greater heights, but if I lose myself in the unreality of the plane of dreams, I will be incapable of doing such. No matter how much I would like to learn of the psionic plane, that knowledge cannot come at the cost of my understanding of the world within which we live. My mind is my greatest tool for the interpretation of reality, and I cannot agree to anything that would stop me from using it in this way.
"I will assist you in your own undertaking. But understand that if you have any expectation or desire that I participate in it with you, it cannot be anything less than absolutely certain that I will suffer no ill effects from the process. This cannot be something that changes me in ways I cannot predict, and I will not do anything until I know in full what its results will be. Am I understood?"

 

[Leon12431]

Grand action - unite the knightly orders
- secondary trait charisma -12 assign diplomacy- 2
organisation creation - 20 government x 5 plantary x 1 (open)
14 x 8 =112
This era of disunited knightly orders ruling caliban has done nothing but make powerful nobles who mostly feared the lose of their own power when better ways of doing things came along. He will bite the bullet and reach out to the ones reaching out to him for their own benefit seeing as at least these ones will talk to him even if only so they can benefit and the ones who think his a mutant cause at least those don't see him as a mallious beast whos sole purpose is to destroy humanity.
1 yearly action getting diplomacy at lesser

Click to shrink...

As time wore on it was clear that the people of the orders were less wedded to their beliefs of him than it had seemed. Sixty nine orders out of the greatest one hundred had joined his growing faction. However, worryingly the Order the strongest one of them all had turned its back on him and his people. Its new Grandmaster one by the name of Luther whom reportedly seemed unconcerned with the risk to his people and the men sent to meet with him claimed that his skill with a blade was almost peer to Lion's own mastery. Where the other orders were powerful in their own right, the Order that Luther lead was the foremost of them all and its Grandmaster a legend in his own right. The emissaries were clear that Luther would resist Lion's attempts to unite the world under the belief that the Order should be the only one to bring peace to the world and that it was his destiny to do so.

Worryingly, the emissaries reported that Luther had recently taken possession of a new sword that could cleave through metal and beast flesh with impossible ease.

This was concerning at best. While Samanthony was able to achieve a state of enlightenment from her trials, there is no guarantee that others will accomplish similar feats of self actualization, rather than self-destruction.

Still, I have learned the lesson of my previous folly. It is not my place to stand high and dictate the future of my fellow humans. I must further my understanding of the soul and the Truth before deciding what to do.

Click to shrink...

The research done was only enough to reveal the truest extent of the failure with the manifesto. Most were far too gone to even have a hope of recovery, the few that could be saved would require decades of careful care to restore even a glimmer of sanity to them. Of course another direction could be taken, the same understanding proved that insanity if pushed far enough could give rise to unknown effects. The choice weighed heavily on his shoulders as he watched the disaster unfolding before him.

The stars danced in Sophos' eyes - an indecipherable but absolute indication that they were being rolled. "Crystial, I rather expect that you would find a way to do this no matter my involvement. My job is not to approve or disapprove, but to protect you from the risks of impulsiveness and ensure that you do not harm yourself or others in the process of doing this. However," he held a finger up to indicate that things were not simply going to begin, "I still have questions. Particularly regarding your insistence that I also consume parts of this malignant ideoform. The first being that this is a malignant ideoform, formed of broken and inhumane concepts, bent toward aggression and hostility. I am aware that I am likely not vulnerable to the madness that Engram Euphrates experienced upon the consumption of a psion's soul, but just because I can semi-safely take into myself immaterial concepts does not mean that those concepts are, themselves, safe to integrate. Just as normal people must concern themselves with avoiding the consumption of foods that have spoiled, or materials that are intrinsically poisonous, I want to make absolutely certain that anything I would consume would not have deleterious effects upon my body, mind, and soul. I have no desire to be reshaped in this beast's image. My self and selfhood is sacrosanct, and I will not agree to anything that might risk them.
"My second concern: you have now mentioned a... 'Korn', that this entity was - or is - bound to. And as this thing is, by its nature, conceptual, I have little doubt that that binding is, itself, built into its being. I have no desire to be bound to the same ruling entity as this and its ilk. My loyalties are to Olympia and my family, and I will not agree to anything that may compel me to work against them.
"And my final concern... you offer to let me know the psionic plane as you do. But I know that that ocean of the unconscious storms with chaotic thoughts, and I cannot afford to drown in them. My people rely upon me to know the ways of reality, to lead them in how to wield them to touch ever greater heights, but if I lose myself in the unreality of the plane of dreams, I will be incapable of doing such. No matter how much I would like to learn of the psionic plane, that knowledge cannot come at the cost of my understanding of the world within which we live. My mind is my greatest tool for the interpretation of reality, and I cannot agree to anything that would stop me from using it in this way.
"I will assist you in your own undertaking. But understand that if you have any expectation or desire that I participate in it with you, it cannot be anything less than absolutely certain that I will suffer no ill effects from the process. This cannot be something that changes me in ways I cannot predict, and I will not do anything until I know in full what its results will be. Am I understood?"

Click to shrink...

Crystial sighed shaking her head, "Would I ever do harm to you or your people? Have I ever given you cause to doubt my honesty? I thought we were closer friends than this mistrust." Her eyes glazed with tears as she quivered in place as she moped for a moment before sighing.

"You're right, I explained it poorly. Yes, I shall not purge my servings of all conceptual linkages to Khorne because that is needed for my purposes. However, you misunderstand, you are not alone." Her voice in the last word shifted and notes sang forth that Sophos had heard all his life from the heavens above. "in the moment of my freedom, I indulged in your spilled blood and it gave me a surety of mind missing. You have always been improving me, by happenstance, do not doubt the integrity of my self. This addition will but move me closer to having a soul. I promise that if you accept this offer that I will do my utmost to ensure that it will not affect your mind or abilities. Please trust me Sophos." Crystial's voice was subdued even as it rang with astral notes in an almost song that touched the deepest recesses of his memories.

 

[Thanatosra]

The emissaries were clear that Luther would resist Lion's attempts to unite the world under the belief that the Order should be the only one to bring peace to the world and that it was his destiny to do so.

Click to shrink...

Upon hearing this the lion responds" oh he thinks its his destiny to bring peace to caliban then he can prove it, I challenge him to a fight winner gets the right to lead. After all if he thinks its his destiny he should not be afriad of proving it shouldn't he."
The emissaries nods and leave the room as he turns and sighs and says "another self important man putting his own pride before whats good lets hope he agrees and doesn't prove himself a craven. I have to make a better Caliban for the sake of the people." and my children.

 

[Chroniqler]

"Please trust me Sophos." Crystial's voice was subdued even as it rang with astral notes in an almost song that touched the deepest recesses of his memories.

Click to shrink...

Sophos exhaled - slowly, softly - through his nose, eyes mostly closed. "This is not an issue of mistrust, Crystial, but that the matter integrally involves the psionic plane, of which I know little more than that it is changeable and unreliable at the best of times. That, and that I know you think in a different manner than I, and I felt it important to impress upon you the value of these things to me, in case you had neglected to consider them. With your assurances, I am… willing to try this endeavor."

Deep within himself, a silent vibration rolls. A perfect alignment with the start of everything.

"What… what is that music? I… remember it."

 

[Leon12431]

Upon hearing this the lion responds" oh he thinks its his destiny to bring peace to caliban then he can prove it, I challenge him to a fight winner gets the right to lead. After all if he thinks its his destiny he should not be afriad of proving it shouldn't he."
The emissaries nods and leave the room as he turns and sighs and says "another self important man putting his own pride before whats good lets hope he agrees and doesn't prove himself a craven. I have to make a better Caliban for the sake of the people." and his children.

Click to shrink...

The duel was well attended by all the orders and their Knights, it was rare indeed for such an event to occur between the Orders of the world. But Lion stood tall clad in his armor reforged with the parts of the slain Beasts that had plagued the world only a few years ago, across from him stood Luther tiny against Lion's bulk but he carried a sword that gleamed with strange inner lights. There was no speeches to be had before the duel, everything had been outlined before all had happened.

Lion and Luther clashed together and for the first time a human matched him. Strike for strike Luther proved his worth, the sword resisting his weapon easily, and the pair fought on. Slowly the day aged, the hours grinding by as the pair struck against the other blows hitting flesh but Lion's body proved resilient and healed through the damage even as his blood raged ever higher. Luther's sword gleamed in the twilight as it faded towards corrosion as his body was torn apart. Once he had been cut in half and yet he remained alive none the worse for ware.

As the middle of the night fell Lion made his move, a strike perfect in intent and perfect in execution. A memory made manifest of the strike against the Avatar, only this time it was not against something impossibly beyond him. A flash of steel was all that was as Luther's sword hand fell from his body and in the next moment his head was removed, as Lion grabbed the fallen sword and knew intuitively what it was. A relic from the deep forest, found within the stump of a great tree that had fallen in the past, where blood had spilled time and time again among the beasts until the sword itself began to hunger for life and blood.

Luther had torn it free and in the process damaged it, his nature soothed the wounds but it remained damaged and it niggled at Lion's mind this damage. The sword wished to be whole once more and it showed him in flashes where it had rested for all those ages.

Sophos exhaled - slowly, softly - through his nose, eyes mostly closed. "This is not an issue of mistrust, Crystial, but that the matter integrally involves the psionic plane, of which I know little more than that it is changeable and unreliable at the best of times. That, and that I know you think in a different manner than I, and I felt it important to impress upon you the value of these things to me, in case you had neglected to consider them. With your assurances, I am… willing to try this endeavor."

Deep within himself, a silent vibration rolls. A perfect alignment with the start of everything.

"What… what is that music? I… remember it."

Click to shrink...

Sophos' eyes flashed wide as memories of the distant past entered fully once more. He remembered the earliest days, the first time that the song of the stars came to him. Memories flashed back into existence as his mind reeled under the weight of self discovery, a hazy figure of golden mien stood proud in his memories, a scream of rage, of sorrow as chaos consumed the memories and then madness as darkened memories of the warp were revealed before him and then freedom the cold star as he spun downward towards Olympia. He remembered the earliest days yet the early years upon Olympia remained lost to him.

Crystial seemed unaware of the event and gestured towards the daemon, "Great, you wont regret this I promise! Can you please get my some null cookware Tiamat?" Tiamat simply nodded as Primus units entered the room as Crystial drew the Bloodmaster up to the giant pot they brought and began carefully cutting apart the ideoform with a null knife. "Skills, Traits, Concepts, Memories the four core parts of an ideoform. Whereas in a Soul they are all the same, for us they are distinct shards. With no inherent biases to them, Simply require a faint texture of Khorne Concept mixed with the intact Skills and Traits I seek, but memories and the rest are to be refined away." Crystial explained as she expertly carved apart the ideoform throwing away seemingly random parts and keeping others.

As the first serving was made, Sophos could tell that Crystial was slightly panicking over the cooking pot before glancing between him and her meal. Before dashing over to the table and in the more ungraceful act he had ever seen her do chug it down in an instant before darting back over to the pot. Right before she could do anything she shivered and twisted, wings unfolding from her back feathers forming even as her body seemingly improved itself and changed to be more cohesive. Short claws formed on her fingers even as curling horns of silver rose from her skull, as she peered into the pot and sighed before carefully manipulating the substance within and adding several drops of her own blood and flesh sourced from seemingly random points on her body.

A moment later the bowl was set before him and Crystial was quivering in excitement or perhaps worry as he poked it and suffered the most disagreeable smell ever, even though it wasn't bad somehow.

 

[Thanatosra]

Luther had torn it free and in the process damaged it, his nature soothed the wounds but it remained damaged and it niggled at Lion's mind this damage. The sword wished to be whole once more and it showed him in flashes where it had rested for all those ages.

Click to shrink...

The lion creates a harness for his new sword and looks at the crowd and shouts out "this era of disunity has done nothing but help the beasts and prop up self important men and women who think its their right to do things, we need to unite now so we are never at their mercy again."
As he walks out of the arena he spots his 3 young daughters run up to him, woth their wolf-lions not far behind. Erza and Sorano jumping on him with Sorano saying "that was amazing father."
Benditka rolled her eyes while saying "as if their was any doubt father is the strongest and some arrogant man wasn't gonna change that."
While Erza hanging on him stares at his new sword saying " thats a cool sword, completely wasted on him so glad its in better hands."
Lion chuckles while getting Erza and Sorano of him and places his hand on their heads causing them to smile and as he does the same to beneditka she averts her eyes and tries shake him of, as he notices their sleepiness he turns to one of his most trusted men and says "can you keep get them to bed and keep an eye on them for a bit I got something to do."
As the man nods and takes them away Lion first will repair the sword and then go to try to find the place where the sword showed him, wondering what mess did luthor cause in breaking this sword

 

[Chroniqler]

A moment later the bowl was set before him and Crystial was quivering in excitement or perhaps worry as he poked it and suffered the most disagreeable smell ever, even though it wasn't bad somehow.

Click to shrink...

Sophos, still somewhat dazed by the visions of his... birth, would it be? Gold, and stars, and roiling madness...

He blinked, refocusing on... whatever the fuck Crystial was doing. Which abruptly ended with a bowl in front of him.

It smelled like copper, smoke, and over-strong perfume. It did not smell like food.

Sophos took a deep breath - through his mouth, not his nose, he didn't want any more of that scent that necessary - and exhaled, eyes closed.

He said he would try.

He picked up the bowl, and drank deeply of it.

 

[Leon12431]

He said he would try.

He picked up the bowl, and drank deeply of it.

Click to shrink...

The moment the stuff hit his tongue he found that he both despised it and also it was the best thing he had ever tasted. Some part of his body was rejoicing in this, some intrinsic part behind the flesh and blood truly loved this food. It was nourishing a part of his being that had been left starving for far too long. It was over far too soon and also far too late for his liking as the final drops entered his gullet and settled into his stomach.

He didn't feel different, then it came to him. Knowledge that he had been missing, knowledge that seemed to obvious he wondered how he didn't already know it, but it was there in his mind. With a few short notes he spun the dark matter in the room into a vortex before letting it fade away, he reached into the warp and calculated the roiling waves and the patterns held true for a faint few nanoseconds before being disrupted. Crystial stood bouncing before him her face conveying her happiness and also showing just how proud she was for this.

The ideoform remains were quickly nulled via the crown and now he just knew how and why that null repulsed them and it did not Crystial. She had a functional body, it was that simple in many ways. Whispers of understanding came from the recesses of his mind as he examined the past and applied his new found understanding to the events in his memories. Sophos stared at Crystial wondering what to do for this was a true improvement to him and it seemed her.

 

[Metalbard]

Turn 5

New skills to catch up due to starting late:

Spoiler

2 Core:
Specialized Psychic (Divination)
Dueling (Defensive Tactics)

3 Secondary:
Architecture
Command (Military Discipline)
Command (Anti-Mutant Tactics)

5 Tertiary:
Crafting (Personal Scale)
Crafting (Carving)
General Psychic (Spellcraft)
Command (Defensive Tactics)
Command (Hit and Run Tactics)

1 Major to make a Divination Spell

Spoiler: Math

Spell: Scavenger Eye
Type: Divination | Scrying - 10+10 /2 = 10
Scale: Region - 8
Minimum Rank: Alpha Plus - 0.01
Complexity: Average - 4
Safety: Normal - 20
Power: Average - 1.25
Total Cost: 80

Psychic Skills:
Divination (Core): 24
Spellcraft (Tertiary): 4 * 0.5 = 2
Psychic Theory: 2 * 0.5 = 1
24+2+1 = 27 | 27 * 3 = 81
Spell Made!

Spoiler: Fluff

New Core Skill: Specialized Psychic (Divination)

Sanguinius' visions were one of his greatest boons, but he couldn't rely on them completely. They came to him on their own volition, not when he called for them.
He couldn't continue like this. For what he was planning, he needed to be able to command them to manifest when he desired.
And so his training began. For many hours he would sit still, focusing only on the memories of his visions and what he felt while experiencing them, trying to replicate the phenomenon with his own willpower. And eventually, he did.
With a bit of focus, his third eye, as he had come to call his power, would open and show him what was yet to come.
With a sigh of relief he closed it and the future was once more hidden from him, until he desired to bring it back.
A small smile tugged at his lips. Now for the hard part.

New Tertiary Skill: General Psychic (Spellcraft)

Being able to call for his visions at his own will was one thing, but to shape them was a different matter. Change who or what he could see, which point in time he could see, how far away he could see, so on and so on.
It was frustrating how much he struggled with it. He hadn't a tangible thing to hold and mold with his hands, only his mind was able to reach and shape what his visions showed him. He felt like an infant trying to learn how to walk. Which was a comparison that only annoyed him even more.
Still, he pushed through his annoyance and continued to try new ways to control his power, until his determination finally paid off.

1 Major action to make a Divination Spell

Baal was poor in any kind of resources, be it food, water or minerals. But poor wasn't the same as lacking. There wasn't much, but it existed, it was just hard to find. Sanguinius decided he would make it a bit easier.

The Scavenger Eye was simple in what it did, but was efficient. When it opened, colorful dots would appear across Sanguinius' field of vision, each revealing the location of the current material he was searching for. The only way to hide from this spell's hungry gaze was to be far away enough from Sanguinius, but the required distance wasn't a small one. And even then, he could cover said distance pretty fast while flying.

It was hard for Sanguinius to contain his excitement. This would prove a great benefit for his people.

No more dying of thirst. He thought as blue shapes revealed a small number of underground lakes across the landscape. Not much, but far more than they usually had.

No more poverty. With a flick of his will, the blue shapes were replaced with gray ones. These revealed the location of underground mines of raw metals as well as ruins of scrapped ones. All soon to be put to use.

No more fear. with another flick, red shapes were manifested, these revealing the location of beasts, mutants and other humans moving through the desert. All these enemies laid exposed before they even knew that his tribe was there.

He couldn't share this ability with his people, but he could share the information. He would draw maps for them when he was too busy to lead them personally to these resources, something that sadly would be the case for the next years to come, as he already had a next project to accomplish.

1 Major Action to build a small city to uplift Baal

Spoiler: Math

(Building * Small City * Tech Level) * uplift mod
(15 * 10 * 0.3) * (1 / 2)^1 = 45 * 0.5 = 22,5

Skills used:
Logistics (Tertiary) = 1 * 4 * 0.5 = 2
Research (Physics) (Lesser) = 0.5 * 2 * 0.5 = 0.5
Research (Radiation) (Lesser) = 1 * 2 * 0.5 = 1
Architecture (Secondary) = 12
Crafting (Vehicles) (Lesser) = 2
Progress: 12+2+2+1+0.5 * 3 = 52,5
Small City Complete!

Spoiler: Fluff

New Secondary Skill: Architecture

There were a lot of factors to consider when designing the construction of an entire city. The necessary materials, the durability of the buildings, the efficiency of the structure. If just one of these didn't receive the proper consideration, the entire project would fall apart. Sanguinius dedicated a lot of time into figuring out how to address each of these factors, planning on how to make sure nothing would go wrong. He even made a few models on what the city should look like to have a better grasp on what the final result should be. He gave these to the children of his tribe as toys once he was done with them. He hoped they would have fun with them. And hopefully they would enjoy living in the real thing once he managed to build it.

---

1 Major Action to build a small city

Some people might say that building a whole city in less than three years, even a small one, was impossible and to believe otherwise was madness.

Sanguinius thanked those people for their opinion, before he started to work on his project.

First step was finding the right place. It needed to be close to rock formations that could be turned into building materials, an underground lake to provide water and a source of metal large enough for the city. Even with the Scavenger eye, he doubted that he would be able to find all three in the same place. Instead he compared the distance of the locations where these resources could be found and picked the one that was the closest to the others. With that done, he began to build his city.

The Angel of Baal dug relentlessly with his bare hands, faster than a normal person would think possible, until he reached the underground lake that only his third eye could see. After he made sure it wasn't the blasted thirst water, but the drinkable one, he left the giant hole he made and gave the good news to his family, who answered with many cheers. He would build a well here later, but first he had to get the materials.

---

Sanguinius flew in circles around the rock formation he had chosen to use to build his city. He had already calculated it was large enough to make all the bricks he would need, but in the middle of it, his mind began to wonder.

How large does a rock formation need to be to be considered a mountain? Is its height the only defining feature or the width should also be taken into consideration? Is there really a difference between a small mountain and a hill?... I'm getting distracted, I should go back to work.

With a sharp turn, Sanguinius dived in the direction of the mountain (or was it a hill?) and with a strike of his first, sent many stones flying. He proceeded to repeat the process for an entire day, only stopping when a horde of mutants, attracted by the noise he was making, tried to attack his tribe. After quickly disposing of them, he went back to work. At the end of it, his fists were bleeding and all that was left was a giant pile of stones. All in all, a good day of work in his opinion.

---

What Sanguinius wanted above everything else, was to keep his loved ones safe. He hoped that this city would be able to accomplish that, but there was one obstacle. A foe that no wall would be large enough to stop.

Radiation. Sanguinius thought bitterly about the cursed energy that infested his whole planet. If he couldn't keep those inside his city safe from it, then the whole thing would be a failure.

Thankfully, after some research and experiments, he believed he found a solution. Like other forms of energy, radiation reacted in different ways to different materials. And some metals he found were capable of stopping radiation from crossing them. With that discovery, when Sanguinius began to build the walls of his city, he made them with multiple layers. The Inner ones were made of lead to prevent the radiation from entering, while the outer layers were made of stone bricks, to prevent the lead from poisoning his people. He also added the lead layers to the ground, to make sure soil contaminated by radiation wouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately, for this protection to work, he needed to build a roof over the entire city to prevent the radiation from entering it, effectively turning it into a giant bunker.

And also a giant cage. The thought didn't sit well with Sanguinius. Baal didn't give much to its people, but the sight of its sky was something they always could appreciate. He remembered many nights where he watched the stars with his family, content in such a small thing. To take that away from them felt wrong to him, despite knowing it was necessary. So he made a compromise. He made the roof of the entire city flat and built stairs to the top of it. That way, people could still go see the sky without having to leave the safety of the city. These stairs would have high security and monitoring, to make sure there wouldn't be any risk of the radiation getting in. And before reaching the doors to the city roof, there would be many decontamination chambers as further precaution. Sanguinius would not take any chances when his people's safety was at stake.

With safety taken care of, there was one last concern about the city to address.

The people.

---

Those of the pure blood, or just "The blood" for short, like every other tribe in Baal, had lived as nomads for many generations. To go from that to settling down in one place would be a big change, and maybe not all of them would adapt well to that.

So when building the infrastructure of his city, Sanguinius had to think of a way to alleviate that. His solution was to build many roads across the city to preserve the use of vehicles on a daily basis, like his people were used to.

Beyond that, there were also the expeditions he sent them into after he found something valuable with the Scavenger Eye, like more water or scrap metal. He hoped that one day the city would be self-sufficient enough that these expeditions wouldn't be necessary anymore, but for now, he was content with keeping the nomad tradition of his people preserved while also giving them a safer place to live.

---

They named their new home Byzantina, after the elderly woman who died before seeing the city finished. She had helped raise many children in the tribe, despite never having one of her own blood. Hopefully, the city would protect its children like old Byzantina had.

Sanguinius watched atop one of the largest buildings in the city as his people went about their daily lives in their new home. They were still adjusting to it, but it was getting easier each day.

"Still feels hard to believe this is real."

The Angel of Baal turned to look at his friend, watching the city by his side. But while Sanguinius had a content expression on his face, Bosco had one of amazement and disbelief.

"I definitely hope it is. I would hate it if all this was just one long dream we're gonna wake up from one day" Sanguinius made a jest at his friend.

"A dream would make a ton more sense. I keep expecting to wake up with my old man screaming at me to get to work any second now" Bosco answered back.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will do just that tomorrow morning" Sanguinius said with a chuckle. His friend wasn't one to rise early, no matter how much his father tried to correct that. He then turned to look back at the city. And his people. "But this place will still be here. Keeping us safe." At that moment, the Angel of Baal felt more at ease than ever before.

Bosco didn't reply immediately. He looked at the city, a more calm expression on his face. After a full minute, he let out a snort before talking. "You know, this being all a dream would also explain why you are here, relaxing, instead of working nonstop like a mad man".

"I relax just as much as anyone else".

"The last few years beg to differ" Bosco pointed out.

"Work can be a relaxing activity too, you know?"

"I'll pretend I believe that." The two friends laughed for a bit, before going back to watching the city. They remained in this peaceful quiet for a few more minutes, before Bosco remembered something he wanted to ask his friend. "So what's next then?"

Sanguinius raised his eyebrow in curiosity "What do you mean?"

"I know you. You won't be content with stopping here. You'll want to improve things even more. So c'mon, I want to know what you're planning to do next".

"Oh, that's easy. I'll build another one."

1 Major Action to build a Medium city to uplift Baal

Spoiler: Math

(Building * Medium City * Tech Level) * uplift mod
(15 * 20 * 0.3) * (1 / 2)^1 = 90 * 0.5 = 45

Skills used:
Logistics (Tertiary) = 1 * 4 * 0.5 = 2
Research (Physics) (Lesser) = 0.5 * 2 * 0.5 = 0.5
Research (Radiation) (Lesser) = 1 * 2 * 0.5 = 1
Architecture (Secondary) = 12
Crafting (Vehicles) (Lesser) = 2
Progress: 12+2+2+1+0.5 * 3 = 52,5
Medium City Complete!

Uplift Complete. Baal reached Industrial level.

Spoiler: Fluff

The second city was named Constanza. This time it wasn't a homage to a deceased loved one, but to someone new. Constanza was the first child to be born in Byzantina, so Sanguinius felt it was a good name to show his people this was a new chapter in their lives, and that it was something to be celebrated.

The experience he gained building his first city helped a lot in the construction of the second one. He didn't have to come up with a lot of new plants or design for the structures, instead being able to reuse what he knew would work from the previous city. This gave him extra time that he used to refine these designs and expand on the size of the new city. All in all, it looked like his second city had everything needed to be a greater version of his first one.

But that didn't mean it didn't have its issues.

"We are too close to it." Dario said to Sanguinius, like he had done many times before while the city was being built.

The two were currently watching the ancient ruins from which the latest mutant horde that tried to attack their city had come from. It had been wiped out quickly, but both men knew more would come.

"It won't be an issue for much longer." Sanguinius replied to his friend. Dario was one of the best warriors in the scorpion guard despite being far from a young man, and his opinion was one Sanguinius appreciated deeply.

"How? There's countless of these things in there. And while I doubt they have the brains to properly siege a city, we'll need to come out to resupply eventually. And when that happens-".

"There won't be countless of them once I'm done with them. In fact, there will be none".

"... Sanguinius, what are you planning to do?".

The Angel of Baal tried to give a comforting look to his friend. "Whatever I need to do to protect our people".

1 Major Action to Craft Scorpion Spear Relic and Scorpion Armor Relic

Spoiler: Math

Spear
Personal Item: 5
Large Object: 1.25
Feudal Tech: 0.3
Barebones relic: 4
Cost: 7.5

Armor
Personal Item: 5
Full body set: 1.5
Feudal Tech: 0.3
Barebones relic: 4
Cost: 9

Total Cost: 16.5

Skills used:
Crafting:
Carving (Tertiary) = 4
Personal Scale (Lesser) = 4
Spear progress: (4+4) * 3 = 24
Armor Progress (4+4) * 3 = 24
Total: 48
48 - 16.5 = 31.5
31.5 * 0.75 = 23.625
Relics Crafted!

Spoiler: fluff

New Tertiary Skills: Crafting (Personal Scale) and Crafting (Carving)
1 Major Action to Craft Scorpion Spear Relic and Scorpion Armor Relic

The fire scorpions were one of the most dangerous creatures of Baal. They were large, had a carapace capable of stopping most projectiles and their sting could pierce through armor to deliver its lethal toxin.

Sanguinius killed one before reaching maturity without much effort and now wouldn't be any different. After a while searching in the sands, he finally found one and promptly landed in front of the creature.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to kill you." he said to the beast. The scorpion answered with a raspy cry before attacking with its tail. It didn't get the chance to do much afterward.

This should be enough. Sanguinius thought as he examined the animal's exoskeleton. While he himself didn't have much trouble breaking through the beast's natural defenses, there weren't a lot of people who could boast to have the same strength he had. He grabbed the corpse by its tail and flew back to his city.

---

Carving was a discipline that required a fine balance of strength and finesse. Too much force would ruin the intended piece, while too little would give you nothing out of it. It was an interesting challenge to Sanguinius and he gave his all to mastering this skill. Especially because of how important what he intended to use it for was.

First he made the spear. The blade was sharpened from one of the claws until he was confident it could cut through anything in its path. Then he made the armor. This one was harder to make because Sanguinius needed to carve different pieces with different sizes for each part of his body. And that's before you take his wings into account. But after some struggle he had the final product in hands, a set of black armor sturdier than any other you could find in Baal.

He named the spear and armor as Aculeus and Black Plate respectively, both of which would be of great help in the trial ahead, but there was still more that needed to be done.

---

New Core Skill: Dueling (Defensive Tactics)
New Secondary Skills: Command (Military Discipline) and Command (Anti-Mutant Tactics)
New Tertiary Skills: Command (Defensive Tactics) and Command (Hit and Run Tactics)

The Scorpion Guard were a great source of pride for Sanguinius. Seeing these warriors training to protect their people made him feel assured that his family would be safe even when he wasn't present. But that didn't mean that they, and Sanguinius himself, couldn't improve further. So he dedicated a few years to training them further, while learning more about how to command an army.

First he developed defensive formations and strategies. Now that they had fixed locations to defend in their cities, this would be an essential skill to have.

Next, was the further study of their most common foes, the mutant hordes. Most of the training exercises of the Scorpion guard involved two or more groups of soldiers facing each other. The problem with that was that an army of intelligent, disciplined fighters, wouldn't act in the same way as a mindless, feral group of monsters would during a battle. So Sanguinius created new training drills on how to face the mutants in a battlefield. This also led to him focusing on another skill to train them in: Discipline.

Every soldier, no matter how dedicated and well trained, was still human in the end. They would feel frustration from tasks they deemed annoying, boredom from long periods of idleness and fear for their lives when faced with the possibility of death. The sight of the mutant hordes' mad rush to eat them alive was particularly effective in causing the last one. So Sanguinius began to learn how to properly maintain the discipline of his troops. Showing the importance of even the most annoying task, reminding them that letting your guard down even in the most monotone of times could provide a breach for their enemies to exploit and teaching that a cool head would do them far more good than panic when their lives were at stake.

Finally, he studied forms of more indirect combat, with the objective of weakening the foe over time. Raids, skirmishes, surprise attacks followed by a fast retreat. These tactics would be far more efficient in defeating a stronger opponent than facing them head on.

After all this training, the Scorpion Guard was a far more effective army and Sanguinius was a greater commander than before. That said, while all this training was happening, the Angel of Baal didn't improve only his leadership skills.

Sanguinius had yet to find anyone who could challenge him in a duel, be it men or beast. But that didn't mean someone or something like that didn't exist. And since he was planning on facing something unknown in the near future, he needed to be prepared for that possibility. He started a new training regime, focusing on ways to defend himself. Parrying, dodging, countering, anything that could save from a foe.

It wasn't that he feared his death, but rather the possibility of not returning to his people. There still was a lot he needed to do for them and death wasn't an excuse he would accept to not fulfill his duty.

1 Yearly action to get the skills Learning and Influence (Negotiation) at lesser
2 Yearlies to raise Diplomacy to tertiary
2 Yearlies to raise Empathy to tertiary

Spoiler: fluff

Despite many adapting well to their new lives in the two cities, there was still discontent from time to time. People who felt unease staying in one place for too long, those who had trouble performing the new jobs they had in the cities, disputes and rivalries that sometimes would escalate too far, and so on and so on.

It took Sanguinius a while to learn how to address those issues. He had to go through many talks with different people to hear their complaints and how to best address them. Sometimes he couldn't simply give them what they wanted, and finding a compromise that was good enough to satisfy them wasn't always easy.

Eventually he learned how to deal with these situations, ending conflicts with words instead of violence and making deals that left everyone more or less satisfied. He also felt he understood his people more deeply than before. And what it was like to be a normal human.

Having to learn these skills in such a quick way also helped him figure out how to acquire new skills faster. Which was something he was very happy for, as there was a lot he still wanted to learn into the future.

5 Yearly Actions to raid one of Baal's mutant infested ruins

Spoiler: fluff

It was time.

He had trained, he had made new gear, he had left his people capable of defending themselves while he was gone. All that was left for him to do was face his opponents.

He stood in front of the ruins closest to Constanza, his third eye showing him the many mutants who hid in the darkness below. The same mutants whose hordes tried to attack his city. His people.

No more.

And so he entered it.

 

[Chroniqler]

He didn't feel different, then it came to him. Knowledge that he had been missing, knowledge that seemed to obvious he wondered how he didn't already know it, but it was there in his mind. With a few short notes he spun the dark matter in the room into a vortex before letting it fade away, he reached into the warp and calculated the roiling waves and the patterns held true for a faint few nanoseconds before being disrupted. Crystial stood bouncing before him her face conveying her happiness and also showing just how proud she was for this.

The malignant ideoform's remains were quickly nulled via the crown and now he just knew how and why that null repulsed them and it did not Crystial. She had a functional body, it was that simple in many ways. Whispers of understanding came from the recesses of his mind as he examined the past and applied his new found understanding to the events in his memories. Sophos stared at Crystial wondering what to do for this was a true improvement to him and it seemed her.

Click to shrink...

Sophos breathed in, and felt the motes of dark matter drift through his lungs.
Sophos exhaled, and felt the flow of the unseen material reach to the edges of the room.

"...well. That was... quite an experience. Excellent work."

He feels the energies of the psionic plane stream through his crown, the ticking of immaterial clockwork vibrating against the current. He feels the patterns he has carved into the world around him, thin furrows trailing behind his fingers.

"This... this will require some adjustment. But... yes, thank you. This will be very helpful."
He makes a wry grin.
"I can only assume that your own boons have made you drastically more terrifying than you already were."

 

[Mr. Idiot]

Grand action: Teaching the Emperor "Call to The Epics."

"Alright, Father, the notes are gathered and I can begin teaching you The Call whenever you're ready."

The Emperor nodded ready to listen and learn, it was clear that there was a faint eagerness to his actions that was not normally present as he waited on the other end of the connection between the pair of them.

"First, as you know from the discipline data packet, the very foundation of the astral is sound and music."

He plays his personal song up to be audible for a second.

"Now, knowing this, one can elevate distant songs utilizing a similar song, a song that shares parts. Constructive interference. Father, can you attempt to play your song to me? For demonstrative purposes."

The Emperor frowned as he opened his mouth and a cacophony poured out, each note perfect as expected by his Father, but too many overlapping in ways not meant to be. A song that captured the life lead by one of the oldest beings in the galaxy, one that had seen even celestial ages rise and fall through the course of their life. Each note a thunderous roar of sound, each note a whisper upon the night. Both were true and neither were true, notes that did not exist within the Astral sung within the chain of sound mudding the entire whole.

"... Ah, I should have expected that, old, storied things tend to make strong impressions with the astral. Notes unheard... I do not know if it's because I have not found them, or because of your deeper nature..."

"Regardless, we need to simplify it, or boil it down to more core meanings, as we're attempting to resonate with our kin, I suspect the answer lies in the parts of you most poured in the making of us, so to speak. What we derive from you. We are your sons, and you created us to be just that, the ideas behind that, within your identity, might be enough. Afterall, each of us carries many parts of our natures from you."

"In conclusion, you must focus on what you and your family have in common. The song of Clan Revelation so to speak. Hm... Here, listen to this."

He thinks for a second, focusing on what he has in common in his father, and their connection, loss at his missing brothers, a love for learning and wisdom and peers, a desire to bring and build great things for and with mankind, to protect those they love, a grim duty in the face of the galaxy, and worse, the warp. He is Magnus Amaru, son of Revelation, one with a burden to help mankind laid upon him by need, like his father before him, and his brothers shall share with him. Big, and yet so small. In the storm we must carry eachother, epics flowing and harmonizing.

The Emperor nodded his face stony and resolved as he pondered before signing a song with only a handful of notes. Each of them were leadened weights, the astral almost bending under the power within and it hit Magnus as if from a punch. Each note sang of lost and the faintest ember of hope, loss and terror, a myriad of emotions all negative fell from his father's lips. Yet, it was a Song none the less.

The Emperor nodded as he turned his gaze towards the void and sang out into the darkness for the first time in so many long eons. Memories of the shamans of Earth conducting moonlight rituals, chanting and dancing under the light of the stars drift through his ancient mind. As he let his song flow into the Astral as Magnus had shown him the method via the warp, he listened and on the very edge of his hearing he heard the response. Songs vibrant and proud resounded from every corner of the galaxy, hale and mighty in tone and sound, crushing gears grinding ever onward, the silent blade in the night, the knight shielding those behind his armored form, the ruler that gave to his people an empire, and more echoed slowly to him.

The Emperor nodded, "I HEAR THEM NOW. THIS WILL ASSIST ME WELL, YOU HAVE ONCE MORE PROVEN TO BE CAPABLE OF GREAT THINGS."

Magnus chuckles, "Thank you, father. I'm sure my brothers will be just as surprising, this is only the beginning. I look forward to meeting you in person at last. Though, your comments on noospheres have given me an idea, a decade, and perhaps we can begin on another great project."

The Emperor nodded before gesturing and a map of the galaxy appeared, "IT WILL SOON BE TIME FOR YOU TO RETURN TO TERRA AND RECOVER YOUR LEGION. THERE ARE CONCERNING REPORTS FROM THE IMPERIAL FORCES MOVING WITH THEM." The Emperor stated moving towards a more professional demeanor.

Magnus straightens, "What's wrong?"

The Emperor shrugged, "THEY ARE BEING SECRETIVE ABOUT THE MATTER, BUT THERE IS AN APPARENT DWINDLING OF ACTIVE ASTARTES OVER TIME. FROM THE REPORTS I AM SEEING THE WEAKEST OF YOUR SONS ARE SUFFERING THE MOST RATHER THAN THE STRONGEST. WHICH IS A BENEIFAL RESULT TO THE LEGION'S ABILITY TO CONDUCT OPERATIONS, HOWEVER, THE FACT OF THE MATTER REMAINS THAT YOUR LEGION IS SUFFERING A SLOW REDUCTION FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON." He was concerned Magnus could tell but seemingly more because he did not know what was the cause than anything else, but at the same time there were glimmers of emotion under the shell that revealed sadness and fear lurking inside.

Magnus pauses, thinking, confused.

"... Why keep it a secret? If they needed help why would they not seek it? Have you asked them about it directly?" He said partly thinking aloud.

The Emperor shrugged seemingly as confused as him, "I DO NOT KNOW, THE REASON I DO KNOW IS BECAUSE THE IMPERIAL FORCES WITH THEM HAVE SENT IN REPORTS OF STRANGE SIGHTINGS AND EVENTS HAPPENING WITH THE ASTARTES AND THAT THE LEGION HAS RECENTLY BEGUN TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM THE HUMANS ASSIGNED TO THEM. HORUS HAS ATTEMPTED TO PRY BUT THE LEGION HAS STONEWALLED HIM. I EXPECT SOME FORM OF MUTATION WITH THE GENESEED OF SUFFICENT SCALE AS TO BE CONCENRING TO LEGION COMMAND THAT THEY MIGHT BE RENDERED DOWN AND REMADE. UNLESS THE LEGION IS TRULY UNSALVABLE I HAVE NO INTENTION OF DOING SO, DO NOT BE ALARMED." The Emperor stated as he seemed to sigh unsured what to do for a change about the legion.


The thought is deeply worrying, but the thought of the alternative is Far worse. Magnus is nervous now.

"After seeing what usually happens to psykers that succumb to mutation, while flying through the Sea, it would be a mercy. I dearly hope it's not that, anything but that...." He gathers himself. "Could you relay a messenge to them from me?"

The Emperor nodded, "I CAN DO SO, YOU HAVE EARNED MUCH MORE THAN THAT."

Magnus calms himself and thinks while composing the messenge.

"Sons of the 15th, my sons, I am Magnus Amaru. I know of your dwindling numbers, the vulnerable falling. Weather it be plague, sabotage, Warp Predators, or mutation. I advise you to trust and be open with my father and brothers. They are your kin, my kin, they *will* help you. You are sons of Tizca and hold the legacies of Revelation and Community. You are not pawns that will be cast aside. For your own sakes and the sakes of the aspirants who entrust that the sacrifice of a mortal life will not be in vain. I have seen the horrors of the Warp, do not let this fester and claim your souls alone. Lean on your grandfather, he will help you. No man is an Island, and no legion is a kingdom. Follow his advice, he is far older than you comprehend."

The Emperor nodded, "I WILL SEND THIS TO THEM IN FULL. I HOPE YOUR WORDS WILL AID THEM IN THIS TIME OF NEED."

Magnus nods grimly.

"So do we all. Until next time, father. I wish you luck in your searches."

The Emperor nods before leaving the communication. - Book of Magnus, Psychic imprint, Entry 5.

---

Year 1: Solar Singing and Firmament Singing
Years 2-3: Firmament Singing at Tertiary
Learning: Astral Sense at Tertiary
Yearly 4: Portal Network for Tizca
Yearly 5: Life Singing

My father as given me rather grim news, my legion is befallen with mutation. Atena, my mother, has comforted me with the knowledge that perhaps astral is a solution, it's novel nature bringing novel solutions to hard problems. Hadid has become an Adept of Teleportation, responsible for transportation. He's brought to me research on the Firmament wind, requesting that I utilize it for Tizca with my strength. Instead, I've opted for a more stable solution, wandering Tizca and opening portals before young singers and psykers, allowing them to learn the method. In doing so I've tuned my senses keenely, feeling the roar of the sun, the scream of firmament currents, and the breath of life. Hadid has taken firmament casting greatly with the discipline. There's word of him becoming master or even Grandmaster due to his opening of many a portal. Even Rostram has taken up the practice of Solar to burn away the mighty beasts of the wilds, slaying 3 phyrr cats in as many days. - Book of Magnus, Footnote 2, Entry 5.

---

Yearly 5: Blood:Link
Yearly 6-8: Blood: Link to Tertiary
Yearly 9-10: Spellcraft Principles to Tertiary
Major: Blood: link to Secondary
Major: Spellcraft Principles to Secondary

I've dived deeply into the arts of spell crafting and blood linkage in preparation for a spell built in the image of the Noosphere. Hadid is assisting me, as specialized in Connections as he is. We quickly pour over paper after paper on the arts, finding them quite informative. - Book of Magnus, Footnote 3, Entry 5

---

 

[The Froggy Ninja]

The research done was only enough to reveal the truest extent of the failure with the manifesto. Most were far too gone to even have a hope of recovery, the few that could be saved would require decades of careful care to restore even a glimmer of sanity to them. Of course another direction could be taken, the same understanding proved that insanity if pushed far enough could give rise to unknown effects. The choice weighed heavily on his shoulders as he watched the disaster unfolding before him.

Click to shrink...

...
It is an imperfect solution, but I have seen the consequences of seeking perfection without thought. I shall walk among my fellows and share my knowledge. What happens next is up to them.
1 Year to get Disguise and Cooperation at Lesser
2 Year to get Disguise to Tertiary
5 Years traveling around while not looking like the guy who wrote the manuscript, sharing my newfound insights with those willing to hear, and helping to heal those willing to be helped.

 

[Leon12431]

While Erza hanging on him stares at his new sword saying " thats a cool sword, completely wasted on him so glad its in better hands."
Lion chuckles while getting Erza and Sorano of him and places his hand on their heads causing them to smile and as he does the same to beneditka she averts her eyes and tries shake him of, as he notices their sleepiness he turns to one of his most trusted men and says "can you keep get them to bed and keep an eye on them for a bit I got something to do."
As the man nods and takes them away Lion first will repair the sword and then go to try to find the place where the sword showed him, wondering what mess did luthor cause in breaking this sword

Click to shrink...

Carefully letting his blood coat the blade he slowly returned it to the shining silver it had been during the first moments of the fight with Luther and then it was time. The whispers from the sword lead him deep into the forests and unlike previously there was nothing within that could harm him, the few beasts that stumbled upon him died with nary a tremble in his hand. The twin swords cleaving through their flesh with grace and might entwined. Hours passed as he walked deeper into the Forest's heart, the darkness omnipresent and oppressive but still the blade lead him on, until eventually he crossed some threshold and entered into a glade of open sky.

If that was all then it would be a wondrous place to know of, but that was not the case for a lake of blood oozing and slowly coagulating bubbled messily in the center of the glade. The stump of a massive tree blackened and red from blood sat in the middle of the lake of blood and even from here Lion could see the marks where the blade had been torn free of the stump. Yet, something told him that life yet lived on within the ancient stump, something stirred within and the blade wished to return to its home. It was driven hard into the wood ages ago and it had not been willingly removed. But at the edges of Lion's mind questions remained about this place and the sword itself.

"...well. That was... quite an experience. Excellent work."

He feels the energies of the psionic plane stream through his crown, the ticking of immaterial clockwork vibrating against the current. He feels the patterns he has carved into the world around him, thin furrows trailing behind his fingers.

"This... this will require some adjustment. But... yes, thank you. This will be very helpful."
He makes a wry grin.
"I can only assume that your own boons have made you drastically more terrifying than you already were."

Click to shrink...

Crystial quivered in happiness at the words, "Oh thank you for the praise, it's nothing much. I so do wish that I could be at your wedding to Iron Tiamat, yet I believe congratulations are in order for mortals that marry?" She frowned before sighing, "Any chance that this would count as my present to your upcoming marriage? If not I can probably find something within the immaterium." She shook her head, "The golden busybody is such a funkiller, please don't become his little wind up droid Sophos." She cocked her head for a moment before smiling, "Good news I will stay around for another few years before leaving before his arrival." She smiled coldly, "Would you be willing to help me find some delicacies of this world?" Her eyes turned downward at those last words.

It is an imperfect solution, but I have seen the consequences of seeking perfection without thought. I shall walk among my fellows and share my knowledge. What happens next is up to them.

Click to shrink...

The people were insane beyond insane, that was clear, nothing he could say or do seemed to assist them but the woman with him. Her words somehow cut through the madness and gave direction to them, her assistance proved critical and beyond valuable. With her assistance he slowly managed to gather the more intact of the fanatics and by happenstance a group began to form around her and thus him.

 

[Thanatosra]

. It was driven hard into the wood ages ago and it had not been willingly removed. But at the edges of Lion's mind questions remained about this place and the sword itself.

Click to shrink...

the lion will approach the stump and investigate it to see if he can notice anything. if not he will move his new sword closer to see if anything happens

 

[Chroniqler]

Crystial quivered in happiness at the words, "Oh thank you for the praise, it's nothing much. I so do wish that I could be at your wedding to Iron Tiamat, yet I believe congratulations are in order for mortals that marry?" She frowned before sighing, "Any chance that this would count as my present to your upcoming marriage? If not I can probably find something within the immaterium." She shook her head, "The golden busybody is such a funkiller, please don't become his little wind up droid Sophos." She cocked her head for a moment before smiling, "Good news I will stay around for another few years before leaving before his arrival." She smiled coldly, "Would you be willing to help me find some delicacies of this world?" Her eyes turned downward at those last words.

Click to shrink...

Sophos glanced toward Tiamat. Well, he'd already had his plans, and he'd already suspected what his siblings would do in response to those plans. This was just confirmation. He'd let them think it was a surprise.
That said, the thought of Crystial trying to find another gift for the wedding was, frankly, terrifying.

"I assure you, Crystial, you have done more than enough for gift-giving."

Presumably, the person she was talking about stopping her from being around was the same as the one he vaguely recalled from... the beginning, really.
...he'd withhold judgement for now. Crystial thought he was being a killjoy for not wanting to eat the psi-null monster a few years ago. Her opinions on what qualified 'funkilling' were indubitably... skewed.
But he wouldn't say no to cleaning up Engram Euphrates' domain. Crystial probably mostly wanted to show off the new things she could do, but once the various beasts down there were dead (and most likely cooked, given Crystial's proclivities), they'd be able to recover whatever technology the Engram and her minions hadn't destroyed.

"As for, ah, 'finding delicacies', I will remind you that I won't be eating anything material that shows itself capable of speech, but I certainly would not be opposed to eliminating the dangers that plague Engram Euphrates' grave-domain. Tiamat, do you have any requests regarding this?"

 

[The Froggy Ninja]

The people were insane beyond insane, that was clear, nothing he could say or do seemed to assist them but the woman with him. Her words somehow cut through the madness and gave direction to them, her assistance proved critical and beyond valuable. With her assistance he slowly managed to gather the more intact of the fanatics and by happenstance a group began to form around her and thus him.

Click to shrink...

Hm... Yes.

This is better. To discuss and cooperate along mutual paths of enlightenment...

[end event]

 

[Leon12431]

the lion will approach the stump and investigate it to see if he can notice anything. if not he will move his new sword closer to see if anything happens

Click to shrink...

The stump and the lake had no reaction as he neared them and stepped closer to the stump but he could see more clearly the wound where the sword came from and in the deepest recesses of the wound there was glimmering metal and something else within that the sword wished to be reunited with.

"As for, ah, 'finding delicacies', I will remind you that I won't be eating anything material that shows itself capable of speech, but I certainly would not be opposed to eliminating the dangers that plague Engram Euphrates' grave-domain. Tiamat, do you have any requests regarding this?"

Click to shrink...

Tiamat shook her head, "As much as I wish it wasn't needed, those children of mine are lost. Broken and insane, death is the only possible mercy." Her soft voice echoed through the room even as she cradled a growing embryo in her palm carefully pruning and shaping the growing life. Crystial sighed before shaking her head, "What are we waiting for, the longer we delay the more likely they are to destroy the items that you seek to preserve."

With a groan Sophos followed behind Crystial as they descended once more into the heart of the facility, only this time as the hunter and not the prey. The distortions were far less potent this time, the generators clearly struggling and not fully restored from the previous journey through, but that was not all. Sophos found that he somehow just knew where he was and how dimensions were being folded, it was still a struggle to plot the course and he failed several times, but progress was being made rapidly.

Crystial was a terror to behold, tendrils of fiery blood arcing out of her form to skewer beasts, cutting blades of wind unleashed as she danced. Her every action a cause of death and as each Beast fell they either were left were they were or they became a perfectly cooked meal for later and to his irritation she was only cooking the ones that had never made any nosies. He worried slightly about that but sighed even as he continued to guide her through the maze of twisted dimensions until eventually they came to the end and a small army of beasts labored to destroy a great vault.

They were too late as Crystial fell upon them and in mere minutes had butchered them all and cooked those that she judged passable by his standards. The door was sealed with null emitters, chains of metal beyond anything he had seen, electronic locks and even dimensional shielding. However without active protections that was nothing in the end as Crystial and him simply tore the door free.

Within there was only a small pile of materials and technological components that he recognized from Euphrates' machines, but otherwise only five items remained within the vault. First was a small palm sized device that within the vault's info base was recorded as being an inverted null emitter, the second was what was a clearly more advanced clockwork drive core, a strange set of stasis vault of biological samples that included a large array of novel creatures was also in the back of the vault, next to the first item was a helm that was similar to the Bonecrown but was more technological in appearance and labeled as a prototype psionic focusing helm.

Crystial thought had danced over to the final item, a large blade with null emitters that was seemingly bleeding blood from its blade and hilt. "Oh, this is glorious discovery. What marvelous madness this mind of iron must have suffered. What passionate creativity must have driven them, I wonder if perhaps they live on in some form." She looked up at Sophos before gigglingly, "I almost wonder if you are giving me gifts on purpose, who knew that a Bloodthirster would be so easily found?" She looked at the sword and back to Sophos, "Please help me free the ideoform from the sword."

 

[dgr11897]

KAIBEN TURN, no fluff

Gift: Arcturus Becomes SPACESHIP
Boon: Curriculum/Education Kaiben was meant to go through

1 Focal spent on going through the education Emps had intended for him
2 yearlies spent testing and comparing Arcturus Astraltech to imperial technology
1 yearly spent learning Ideological warfare and human psychology
1 yearly spent learning Rhetoric and Diplomacy
6 yearlies spent bonding with legion and helping them with their projects.

Kaiben was sick and tired of killing. He was very good at it, but it wasn't something that he ever enjoyed. So, upon learning of his role in the great crusade, he sought to learn ways to contribute that would not require violence. Through learning more about how people thought, through applying his skills in storytelling and history, he would convince worlds to join peacefully, and through learning what the emperor meant to teach him, he would learn more of how to wield narrative and forge it into items.

Arcturus was home, and a salve on his soul after the Tattoo, he could not just abandon it, but Emps gave him an option. Why not just take Arcturus with him? And so he spent his Gift on upgrading Arcturus for spaceflight, allowing the city of a new age of stars to journey among the stars in the sky. With his new role he also sought to test how his home city's tech measured up to that of the greater imperium, seeing what it could contribute to the wider effort.

His legion was another project of his, bonding with and reorganizing them. Psitech would have to go, and a new emphasis on diplomacy would be implemented. The switchover would be difficult, so he dedicated much time to it, seeking to create a deep bond with his legion and accelerate their projects, to share a love of crafting wonders with them and see what wonders they sought to make.

 

[Thanatosra]

The stump and the lake had no reaction as he neared them and stepped closer to the stump but he could see more clearly the wound where the sword came from and in the deepest recesses of the wound there was glimmering metal and something else within that the sword wished to be reunited with

Click to shrink...

The Lion will try to reach into the stump to grab the glimmering metal and other item in the wound if that fails he will stab the sword into the stump to reconnect his new sword with whatever broke of when luther removed it

 

[Chroniqler]

Crystial thought had danced over to the final item, a large blade with null emitters that was seemingly bleeding blood from its blade and hilt. "Oh, this is glorious discovery. What marvelous madness this mind of iron must have suffered. What passionate creativity must have driven them, I wonder if perhaps they live on in some form." She looked up at Sophos before giggling, "I almost wonder if you are giving me gifts on purpose, who knew that a Bloodthirster would be so easily found?" She looked at the sword and back to Sophos, "Please help me free the ideoform from the sword."

Click to shrink...

Sophos' eyebrows ascend up his forehead. "I think this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Terminal Apostate was the most like Engram Euphrates of all the Terminals. This is honestly ridiculous.
I take it they'll only be 'freed' long enough to render them down into ingredients?"

 

[Leon12431]

The Lion will try to reach into the stump to grab the glimmering metal and other item in the wound if that fails he will stab the sword into the stump to reconnect his new sword with whatever broke of when luther removed it

Click to shrink...

He found that his hand failed to fit into the hole and that the wood resisted his strength for a time before cracking the wood and thick blood began to flow out. He pulled back his hand before it fully broke to avoid the risk of losing everything fully.

As he placed the sword near the wound he had made it slipped back into the stump and the lake surged as it connected once more, in his hand the sword flashed silver before sealing itself into the stump once more all harm seemingly gone. Yet, also something about the land seemed to hint to the fact that the sword could be drawn whole. The Stump twisted as the blood slowly began to creep up the roots, slowly tainting the wood red and yet only a small fraction of the lake was reacting and the majority of the wood remained untainted.

Sophos' eyebrows ascend up his forehead. "I think this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Terminal Apostate was the most like Engram Euphrates of all the Terminals. This is honestly ridiculous.
I take it they'll only be 'freed' long enough to render them down into ingredients?"

Click to shrink...

Crystial shook her head, "I know this ideoform, it is beyond you. I will use a secret of our kind to prevent it from harming you, but you can not fight it or that will release it from the binding. Please retreat I could not bear to let you die."

 

[Chroniqler]

Crystial shook her head, "I know this ideoform, it is beyond you. I will use a secret of our kind to prevent it from harming you, but you can not fight it or that will release it from the binding. Please retreat I could not bare to let you die."

Click to shrink...

"...understood. Ah, how far away would be best?"

 

[Leon12431]

"...understood. Ah, how far away would be best?"

Click to shrink...

Crystial frowned looking at the blade seemingly to consider things, "Ah, perhaps you could take the Terminals into Lochos for the day?"

 

[Chroniqler]

Crystial frowned looking at the blade seemingly to consider things, "Ah, perhaps you could take the Terminals into Lochos for the day?"

Click to shrink...

"...I see. Er, enjoy yourself?"
Sophos starts backing away from the sword until he is outside of the armory, at which point he starts running.