WARHAMMER 40,000: A Thousand Tiny Suns (40k/Exalted Crossover!)

[DragonCobolt]

FORTY ONE TWENTY TWO
First Natural Magos, the Golden Chemist, Mistress of Gravitics, Herald of the Thousand Starred Sky, Warptamer

ESSENCE: *
XP TO ESSENCE **: 24/50

ATTRIBUTES​

Strength​	Dexterity​	Stamina​	Perception​	Intelligence​	Wits​	Appearance​	Charisma​	Manipulation​
***​	*****​	*​	***​	*****​	***​	*****​	*​	*​

ABILITIES​

FAVORED/CASTE?​	ABILITY​	LEVEL​	FAVORED/CASTE?​	ABILITY​	LEVEL​
NOT​	Archery​	*​	FAVORED​	Melee (Lens Lance)​	*****(*)​
FAVORED​	Athletics	**​	CASTE​	Occult​	***​
FAVORED​	Awareness (Join Battle)	***(*)​	NOT​	Performance​	-​
NOT​	Brawl​	-​	FAVORED​	Presence​	*****​
CASTE​	Bureaucracy	-​	NOT​	Resistance​	-​
NOT​	Dodge​	***​	FAVORED​	Ride (Gita)	****(*)​
CASTE​	Integrity	**​	NOT​	Stealth​	-​
NOT​	Investigation	-​	NOT​	Sail​	-​
NOT​	Larceny​	-	NOT​	Socialize​	-​
NOT​	Linguistics	*​	NOT​	Larceny​	-​
CASTE​	Lore	****​	NOT​	Survival​	-​
CASTE​	Medicine	****​	NOT​	Thrown​	-​
-​	-​	-​	NOT​	War	-​

SUPERNAL CRAFT FOCUSES​

CRAFT: Chemistry

*****​

CRAFT: Armorer

***​

CRAFT: Artifacts

*****​

CRAFT: ???

-​

MERITS​

ARTIFACT (*****) - THE LENS LANCE
DESCRIPTION: Forged in a heartbeat, lurking within the machine for ten thousand years, the fury and spirit of a barely tamed gravitic imploder lance - long mistaken for and used as an agrav system aboard an orbital habitat - has been once more aroused to the glory of battle. Though her functions are as of yet locked behind codewalls and mystery, she remains a terrifying weapon in the hands of a skilled warrior. Her legend will burn across the galaxy.

FAMILIAR (**) - GITTA, THE EVER LOYAL
DESCRIPTION: They say the Kriegers pour their hearts into their horses - but beyond their world, none know their mounts as anything but numbers on an Administratum file. Gitta will change that. Ia! Ia! Praise her! Praise Sainted Gitta, The Ever Loyal! Ia! Ia!

TEMPERED BY THE ELEMENTS (**) - DAUGHTER OF VATS, BORN OF WAR
DESCRIPTION: Though fading into seeming insignificance in the glorious dawn of a new age, the first Twilight to walk the galaxy since the fading of the Age of Sorrows was inured to the chaos of a modern battlefield, moving across it as swiftly as open ground.

SELECTIVE CONCEPTION (*) - SUBDERMAL IMPLANT IN THE THIGH
DESCRIPTION: ...this is actually just standard issue for Imperial Guardsmen from any world with a Magos Biologis on it.​

LANGUAGES (*)
DESCRIPTION: You can speak the ancient tongue of The Old Realm!

INTIMACIES
​

Defining: The Galaxy is a Body, I will Heal it (Positive)
Major: Kit (Confused Attraction), Chaos (Hatred), Gitta (Love)
Minor: Technology (fascination), Xenos (Fear)

CHARMS​

IN SUMMATION: Genuis flows, unabated, through the mind of the First Twilight. She is able to hold multiple projects in mind at once, easier than any mortal, while also shifting her focuses - despite not being trained in the crafting of explosives or metallurgy, she could shift her ability to create medical chemicals into that with some effort. She is able to inspire herself to construct even mighty artifacts swifter than any mortal, so long as she crafts projects that aid and help her allies and friends. She can complete mundane and even complex tasks - building a rifle, a suit of armor, or a small vehicle - in literal seconds using nothing but the raw materials and her bare hands. Raw excellence overflows in all her favored and caste abilities, bolstering their dicepools if required.
​

Spoiler: CHARMS

Excellent SOLAR Ability
Cost: 1m per Die | Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Adds +1 dice to your dice pool, up to your normal charm limits. You have this ability for any ability that is either CASTE, FAVORED, or has a SINGLE CHARM from it.

TIRELESS WORKHROSE METHOD
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: Gain +2 Major slots per Essence.

EFFICENT CRAFTSMAN TECHNIQUE
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: You may buy new Major slots for 3 SXP rather than 5.

ARETE SHIFTING PRANA
Cost: 4m, 1sxp, 1wp | Type: Simple
Keywords: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Roll Int+Craft, convert 1 dot of a Craft skill into a different but related Craft skill - nearly impossible rationales can be allowed with a sufficiently good explanation. These dots last for one minor or major project.

SUPREME CELESTIAL FOCUS
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keywords: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: You may expend GXP to buy Craft skills, up to a number of times equal to [Essence]. Any past that cost x2 GXP.

SUBLIME TRANSFERRENCE
Cost: 6m | Type: Simple
Keyword: Mute | Duration: Instant
Effect: By meditating for five minuets, you may arrange your crafting XP at a 2 to 1 ratio up each level: 2 silver becomes 1 gold, 2 gold becomes 1 white, and the reverse. You may use this while unconscious or asleep.

AGES ECHOING WISDOM
Cost: - | Type: Permeant
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: At the beginning of each Story (every 20 updates), gain GXP equal to your permanent Major Project Slots. For free!

BRASS SCALES FALLING - REPURCHASED
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: For each 10 rolled on a craft roll without an Excellency, gain 1 SXP up to [Essence x3].

RED ANVILS RISING
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: You gain +1 SXP per each basic objective.

CHAINS FALL AWAY
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keywords: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: You gain 1 GXP if you complete all three basic objectives on a craft project.

CRAFTSMEN NEED NO TOOLS
Cost: 6m | Type: Simple
Keyword: Mute | Duration: One Task
Effect: You may complete a Basic or Major Project (either crafting or repairing) within seconds, using naught but your bare hands and sheer creative will.

THOUSAND-FORGE HAND
Cost: 10m, 1wp | Type: Reflexive
Keyword: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Reduce artifact crafting time to (6-Essence) weeks for 1-4 dot artifacts, (6-Essence) months for 5+ dot artifacts.

PEERLESS PERFECTION OF CRAFT
Cost: - | Type: Permanent
Keyword: None | Duration: Permanent
Effect: At the end of each story (every 20 updates), roll a free full Intelligence+Craft+Full Excellency dice pool. Every success is 1 SXP, and every 10 is 1 GXP.

FLAWLESS HANDIWORK METHOD - REPURCHASED
Cost: 6m | Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Re-roll 10s until 10s fail to appear, counting each as a success. Re-roll 6s until 6s fail to appear.

SUPREME MASTERWORK FOCUS
Cost: 6m | Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Supplements any Craft roll for Major or Minor projects with Double 9s. Can be improved further with later Charm Purchases.

EXPERIENTIAL CONJURING OF THE VOID
Cost: 4m, 4s/g/wxp | Type: Reflexive
Keyword: Salient | Duration: Instant
Effect: Can be used after a Craft roll, and adds +1 non-charm success, +[Essence] non-Charm dice. Cannot be used on basic projects.

UNBROKEN IMAGE FOCUS
Cost: 3m+1s/g/wxp | Type: Reflexive
Keyword: Salient | Duration: Instant
Effect: After making a Craft roll, you may purchase non-charm successes up to the number of successes rolled + your [Essence]. These do not count double successes for the purposes of how many successes you can buy.

SEASONED BEAST-RIDER APPROACH
Cost: 1m, 1wp | Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None | Duration: Instant
Effect: Used when rolling join battle, Gitta (or other mounts) gains an imitative track equal to 41-22's - the mount can move and attack without taking up 41's actions.

EVOCATIONS​

LINE OF OBLITERATION SHAFT
Cost: 2m, 2ini | Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Withering-Only, Perilous | Duration: Instant
Effect: Due to the peerless efficaciously of the Lens Lance at battering large masses of men in formation, any withering damage inflicted on a Battle Group increases the wielder's initiative as if they had attacked a worthy foe. This effect also reduces the Difficulty of the Unhorse and Disarm gambit by 1.​

GEAR​

The Lens Lance
Accuracy: 12 | Damage: 17 | Defense: 6 | Overwhelming: 5 | Attunement: 5​

Lethal: Does lethal damage when used with a decisive attack.
Melee: Uses the melee skill
Piercing: You may reduce your Defense by 1 and spend 1 Initiative to reduce enemy Soak by 4.
Reaching: Negates any mounted combat penalties when used on foot
Mounted: Can be used on horseback without penalty.
Two Handed: Requires 2 hands to be held. Provides +2 to clash attacks.
​

Laspistol
Accuracy (melee, short, medium, long, extreme): 4/10/8/6/4 | Damage: 11 | Overwhelming: 1​

Lethal: Does lethal damage
Archery: Uses the archery skill
Lasgun: Does +4 damage rather than adding your strength.
Mounted: Can be used mounted.
One Handed: Requires one hand to use.
Concealable: Can be easily concealed, requiring only a Diff 1 Larceny roll.
​

Flak Armor
Soak: 6 | Mobility: -1 | Hardness: 0
​

 

[Narasan]

He got three gifts. And instead of cherishing them, he risked everything just to know what the third was? Thats insumting to the giftgivers. Especially since gift one and two would let him life a good,healthy life, no matter which path he chooses.

Never enough. Never enough blessings. Never enough wisdom. Even when you are in heaven,you challenge gid for his throne.

Because you dont know when to stop.



Thats my interpretation.


[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

 

[Acolyte]

The gift was a drive for adventure.

 

[sheep-dodger]

He got three gifts. And instead of cherishing them, he risked everything just to know what the third was? Thats insumting to the giftgivers. Especially since gift one and two would let him life a good,healthy life, no matter which path he chooses.

Never enough. Never enough blessings. Never enough wisdom. Even when you are in heaven,you challenge gid for his throne.

Because you dont know when to stop.

Thats my interpretation.

[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

Click to shrink...

yeah, I think it's close to this, since the story was told in relation to the emperor being too bold and self-assured. I think the gift Morai-Heg gave would also be something along the lines of providing a reminder that at the end of the day, for all his achievements and gifts, he was still mortal and subject to the whims of the gods, so the marred features in his perfect beauty would've been a reminder to him of that fact. Which kinda ties back in with the emperor recently dying despite all his power.

 

[Always Late]

He got three gifts. And instead of cherishing them, he risked everything just to know what the third was? Thats insumting to the giftgivers. Especially since gift one and two would let him life a good,healthy life, no matter which path he chooses.

Never enough. Never enough blessings. Never enough wisdom. Even when you are in heaven,you challenge gid for his throne.

Because you dont know when to stop.



Thats my interpretation.

Click to shrink...

yeah, I think it's close to this, since the story was told in relation to the emperor being too bold and self-assured. I think the gift Morai-Heg gave would also be something along the lines of providing a reminder that at the end of the day, for all his achievements and gifts, he was still mortal and subject to the whims of the gods, so the marred features in his perfect beauty would've been a reminder to him of that fact. Which kinda ties back in with the emperor recently dying despite all his power.

Click to shrink...

I may be going at this back-asswards, but to add to a potential explanation of why Khaine's "wife" is unnamed yet one we of the Imperium know very well, decides rips out the dude's eyes and turns him into an immortal security camera:

The wife is Slaanesh. The Chaos God with dominion over all Eldar Souls, so they never speak its name. And what did The Emperor famously take to go from a Perpetual to a God In Denial? Power From The Dark Gods.

When you take a loan from a loanshark and then show up with a shotgun to 'avoid repayment'? Don't be surprised when they've already taken precautions and your son was a Made Man all along.

 

[Wardragon]

or be talking about the Day caste , the evil night solars?

 

[PeepTheSheep]

[X] "...what!?"

 

[DragonCobolt]

Do remember that if you have a response and understanding of the story to format it as a vote!

 

[pheonix89]

[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

 

[sheep-dodger]

[X] "So Morai-Heg's gift could have been a reminder of the limits of his mortal power, but instead it caused him to unknowingly seek out his doom because he overstepped those same limits, which as the Goddess of Fate she presumably knew already at the time. So this is a warning against overstepping your abilities and seeking out power that doesn't belong to you? Which presumably you believe the Emperor was engaged."

[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

 

[Always Late]

[X] "An enemy we know, but you refuse to name. A wife of the God you hate, cruel enough to take the essence of a hero and make him a living piece of her palace. I see the logic: The mortal hero becomes too ambitious. A living legend turned into a monument to someone else's power. But if you're going to insinuate that the God-Emperor sought the power of the Arch-Enemy, you will be explaining that."

 

[Mailstrome]

[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

 

[Edin]

I like this one, it tastes very spicy!


[X] "An enemy we know, but you refuse to name. A wife of the God you hate, cruel enough to take the essence of a hero and make him a living piece of her palace. I see the logic: The mortal hero becomes too ambitious. A living legend turned into a monument to someone else's power. But if you're going to insinuate that the God-Emperor sought the power of the Arch-Enemy, you will be explaining that."

 

[samdamandias]

[X] "The third gift... was curiosity and a reason for adventure."

Hashtag JustTwilightCasteThings

 

[Draz]

[x] We should be careful about who we ask for gifts. They might not give us what we expect or want.

 

[NotInventedHere]

[X] "So Morai-Heg's gift could have been a reminder of the limits of his mortal power, but instead it caused him to unknowingly seek out his doom because he overstepped those same limits, which as the Goddess of Fate she presumably knew already at the time. So this is a warning against overstepping your abilities and seeking out power that doesn't belong to you? Which presumably you believe the Emperor was engaged."

[X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

I'd like to take some time to sit and work out the best answer for myself, but right now I'm mostly approval voting against the "Khaine's wife was Slaanesh" interpretation, on the grounds that "Khaine's wife is Slaanesh" would be uhhh *enormously* blasphemous and heretical, and our new Bonesinger buddy has shown no signs of that nor have any of the other Eldar reacted accordingly.

EDIT:

A wife of the God you hate, cruel enough to take the essence of a hero and make him a living piece of her palace.

Click to shrink...

Also, a) the Eldar... Don't hate Khaine? He's their god of war, and one of the only gods they've got left. Calling him "Bloody Handed" isn't an expression of hatred, it's more of a badass boast sort of thing. b) all the Eldar gods can be cruel if crossed or addressed with hubris, Greek god style. That section definitely feels more like "Arachne challenges Athena and gets turned into a spider" than like "doomed mortal accepts a deal with the embodiment of all evils".

 

[Always Late]

on the grounds that "Khaine's wife is Slaanesh" would be uhhh *enormously* blasphemous and heretical

Click to shrink...

According to who? Slaanesh is born of the Eldar. They all know it. 25% of Chaos is their direct fault, it's constantly killing them or forcing drastically abnormal lifestyle changes on them.

Also, a) the Eldar... Don't hate Khaine?

Click to shrink...

I think you're missing alot of Warhammer 40k lore if you think the Eldar have any positive affection for Khaine, or view people who vibe like him in any positivity. The biggest warmongers and Khaine-like Craftworld, Biel-Tan, isn't liked. They strong-arm people into following them or act as the very corrupt sole support structure when the rest of the Eldar don't have the ability to hold territory. And if you insinuated that the one of the most fundamental Khaine-worshippers, the Incubi, have the same level of adoration to the God of Murder as the Aspect Shrines, that would actually be offensive to the craftworlders.

The Craftworld Eldar are fine with Apsects of Bloody-Handed Khaine. Hence the Aspect Warriors. But the big dude is a Bad Guy. Hence why Aspect Warriors are not Incubi.

all the Eldar gods can be cruel if crossed or addressed with hubris, Greek god style.

Click to shrink...

Can you show me a canonical quote of Isha getting her Greek on?

 

[NotInventedHere]

According to who? Slaanesh is born of the Eldar. They all know it. 25% of Chaos is their direct fault, it's constantly killing them or forcing drastically abnormal lifestyle changes on them.

Click to shrink...

"Slaanesh is the ancient Eldar's fault" and "Slaanesh is an Aeldari God and part of the pantheon" are two *very* different things.

I think you're missing alot of Warhammer 40k lore if you think the Eldar have any positive affection for Khaine, or view people who vibe like him in any positivity. The biggest warmongers and Khaine-like Craftworld, Biel-Tan, isn't liked. They strong-arm people into following them or act as the very corrupt sole support structure when the rest of the Eldar don't have the ability to hold territory. And if you insinuated that the one of the most fundamental Khaine-worshippers, the Incubi, have the same level of adoration to the God of Murder as the Aspect Shrines, that would actually be offensive to the craftworlders.

The Craftworld Eldar are fine with Apsects of Bloody-Handed Khaine. Hence the Aspect Warriors. But the big dude is a Bad Guy. Hence why Aspect Warriors are not Incubi.

Click to shrink...

I don't think you're *missing* a lot of 40k lore but I think you're *wildly* reinterpreting important bits of it to support this idea of yours - and ignoring all the parts about the sheer degree with which the Craftworld Eldar fear and loathe She Who Thirsts to the point where equating her with one of their gods would be an absolutely wild thing to do. Khaine is not a *nice* god - he's a war god, he murdered Eldanesh and tortured Isha, he's generally a jerk - but he's a powerful and important god, and every Craftworld worships and venerates him.
The Incubi are hated because they're Dark Eldar, not because Khaine is fundamentally loathed. Biel-Tan aren't *liked*, because they're pushy overly-aggressive assholes, but when they show up, the other Craftworld Eldar go "oh joooooy, Biel-Tan are here, ugh", they don't go "drop everything we're doing, we need to murder these guys at all costs, drive them off with every gun you have". Which would be the reaction if Khaine was on the same level as Slaanesh.

Can you show me a canonical quote of Isha getting her Greek on?

Click to shrink...

I can't show you a canonical quote of Isha doing more or less *anything* except the one story we have of her. The story being told in the update isn't a canonical story either. There's no canonical account of Lileath or Morai-Heg doing anything except the one story we have of them either. We have a grand total of maybe four or five Eldar myths, depending on how you count. There's certainly not a single shred of canonical evidence for "Khaine's wife is Slaanesh", "Slaanesh is an accepted part of the Eldar pantheon", or anything even vaguely close to that.

EDIT: to clarify: "the Eldar gods can be cruel to those with vanity and hubris" is the vibe I am getting *from DragonCobolt's story* - particularly the whole business with Morai-Heg giving him a scar and saying "this is a gift if you are wise enough".

 

[Rarden]

[X] "So Morai-Heg's gift could have been a reminder of the limits of his mortal power, but instead it caused him to unknowingly seek out his doom because he overstepped those same limits, which as the Goddess of Fate she presumably knew already at the time. So this is a warning against overstepping your abilities and seeking out power that doesn't belong to you? Which presumably you believe the Emperor was engaged."

[X] "The third gift... was curiosity and a reason for adventure."

 

[DragonCobolt]

Oops I forgot to write a sentence in the story that would have solve a lot of this debate. Well most claim I did this on purpose to reflect the enigmatic alien mind of the eldar, lol

 

[NotInventedHere]

Wait hold on hold on, I just re-read the story again looking for more clues and realised we know exactly who Khaine's wife is from the text.

After it, when Khaine's wounds were dressed by his wife, Yilendis saw the gentle touch of her fingers upon his cheek, and within him came a realization. She had touched him, as she now touched Khaine-"

Click to shrink...

And so, finally, the eldest, Morai-Heg, gave her gift. With a hand of silver glass, she carved into his cheek five finger marks that woke him with a great shriek.

Click to shrink...

It's Morai-Heg, it has to be, that's what the "She had touched him as she now touched Khaine" line is about. She puts her hand on Khaine's cheek like she put her hand on Ylendis's cheek. Except without the scars.

 

[Always Late]

Ok, that definitely changes a few things. The metaphor now is "Big E offered to give up something precious of himself to be on the same level as the Big Bads, and it massively blew up in his face." The point of the scars is now probably a Memento Mori. A reminder for Big E to keep him aware of his fallibility and mortality. But he instead tried to play god while insisting he wasn't a god.

 

[DragonCobolt]

Yeah, it was meant to be an amusing piece of unexpectedly straightforward response catching 41 up; she already knew because there was meant to be a sentence calling the crone a wife - it's just lost in all the poetry and elliptical language.

 

[DragonCobolt]

Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Dec 8, 2024 at 12:00 AM, finished with 24 posts and 11 votes.

• ---

  5 people have voted

  [X] "Two wonderful gifts. Thrown aside to figure out the third...its never enough, huh?"

  • Narasan
  • pheonix89
  • Mailstrome
  • sheep-dodger
  • NotInventedHere

  3 people have voted

  [X] "So Morai-Heg's gift could have been a reminder of the limits of his mortal power, but instead it caused him to unknowingly seek out his doom because he overstepped those same limits, which as the Goddess of Fate she presumably knew already at the time. So this is a warning against overstepping your abilities and seeking out power that doesn't belong to you? Which presumably you believe the Emperor was engaged."

  • sheep-dodger
  • NotInventedHere
  • Rarden

  2 people have voted

  [X] "An enemy we know, but you refuse to name. A wife of the God you hate, cruel enough to take the essence of a hero and make him a living piece of her palace. I see the logic: The mortal hero becomes too ambitious. A living legend turned into a monument to someone else's power. But if you're going to insinuate that the God-Emperor sought the power of the Arch-Enemy, you will be explaining that."

  • Always Late
  • Edin

  2 people have voted

  [X] "The third gift... was curiosity and a reason for adventure."

  • samdamandias
  • Rarden

  1 people have voted

  [X] "...what!?"

  • PeepTheSheep

  1 people have voted

  [x] We should be careful about who we ask for gifts. They might not give us what we expect or want.

  • Draz

Your questor has been sick, and yet, he writes an update. Everyone should go, "ooh, ahh, what a brave boy he is"

 

[DragonCobolt]

You frowned behind your respirator. The Eldar had to have told the story for a reason. Slowly, you sat down in the chair next to her, considering. "Two wonderful gifts," you said, hesitantly. "Thrown aside to figure out the third. It's never enough, huh?"

The Bonesinger inclined her head. "Some people are born with a hole in their soul - an emptiness that can never be filled. They can either doom themselves or they can doom those around them - but doomed they are."

You prickled. "Are you saying the Emperor is like that?" you asked, frowning.

The Bonesinger looked at you. Her eyes were...suddenly full of a deep, deep, deep sadness. "No, mon'keigh. I am saying that I am."

You rocked back slightly in your seat. Frowning.

"But...the Emperor...you told the story of this Findelly fellow when I asked about him..." you paused. "Are you saying we're alike?"

The Bonesinger's smile was gentle. "Are we?"

"Do you Eldar ever give a straight answer?" you snapped, angrily.

"Yes," she said, demurely. Then, leaning forward, she placed her hand next to the table, not touching yours. Her eyes flashed and she frowned, very intently. "You have forgotten something. Now is the time, oh daughter of Vaul."

"What?" you blinked - then noticed that the Estasian and Amberly were glowering at one another, and you could see that Amberly's stance was such that her hand was drifting closer and closer to her laspistol. "The- oh right!" You sprang to your feet, throwing the parchment back, revealing the next stage of your plan. "We can replace the theotechnic engine with a fairly basic purging of the internal systems of Oberashti using a crucible of molten orichalicum, poured into the hole in his brain and passed through his body with a string of implanted adamant crystals here, here, here and here, then extracted around his ankle." You pointed. "This would reset him to the moment of his creation, and if we place jade baffles in a certain kind of...monofilament motonically aligned omnimesh, here..." You pointed at a different part of the diagram. "It'll keep the memories intact as well!"

Everyone looked at you.

The red robed woman lifted her hand slowly. "Honorable Solidate..." she hesitated, looking at you again. "Or...whatever you are."

"I'm a medicae officer for the Death Korps of Krieg," you said, blushing behind your mask. "B-But this will still work."

"So she is militat?" The Estasian grumbled, while the red robed woman leaned forward.

"How much orichalcium do you need here?" she asked.

You rubbed your chin. "For proper suffusion of the greater dragon's internal components, considering, uh, hm...it's likely..." you started to scribble math on the board, then stepped back, nodding to yourself. "Fifty one gigatons."

"Fifty one gigatons!?" The Estasian roared, springing to his feet.

"Yes," you said, nodding. "...but we would have the orichalicum afterwards. It may pick up some unique-"

"Fifty one gigatons!?" The Estasian shouted, even louder.

"It's only a sphere approximately eighty meters in radius," you said, blushing.

"Of solid orichalicum!"

Kit chuckled. "What?" he asked into the dawning silence around the table. "It's only the width of an entire scrumball field, with the bleachers thrown in for pleasure, made entirely out of the most rare substance in the universe," he said. You blushed, about to think about methods, means, strategies - but then...one of the delegates surprised you by speaking up. He was a scrawny, slender, remarkably hideous fellow with a bent nose, scarred features and...a breathtakingly ornate geometric pattern on his robes, giving him the look of a moving, living piece of mathematics. When he spoke, his voice was remarkably fair and gentle.

"That's not entirely true, honorable militat," he said, clearly interpreting Kit's flak vest and open sleeved vest one particular way. "I know my nation is small and impoverished, but we exist within the outer reaches of the Great Maker. Ever since the advent of Project Razor, we have needed to explore less...but still...some of our more daring and brave heroes have found the physiological effects useful to push deeper into the Reaches than was normally possible."

"Uh, beg pardon?" Amberly asked. "What's Project Razor."

Everyone of the delegates all looked at a tough jawed woman in a simple but brightly colored uniform with a high white cap. She sighed, then said: "Project Razor was a joint Nuradi-Clasati effort to retard the Blight Progress of the Great Maker and, possibly, expand human capacities to survive within the realm of brass and shadows. It...sort of worked."

"It altered the flow of time itself!" The Estasian growled. "Made five decades feel like five months."

"According to Clasati analysis, it allowed Autocthon to persist far beyond initial projections, though," the Clasati woman said, hurriedly.

The Estasian grumbled something that might have been 'you were lucky it didn't start running backwards' while the beautifully adorned fellow coughed, then started to continue. "Jarish has discovered a technological organ that may be of use in this situation - it is too far for economical tapping, but our heroes have named it the Glorious and Most Divine Smelter of the Eternal Maker."

"What is it?" you asked.

"It's an engine the size of a world, which spews forth endless torrents of smelted orichalcium, to be processed off and sent to various parts of the Great Maker's body. It's a dangerous, perilous trek to reach-"

"And nigh blasphemous," the Estasian grumbled. "That Organ is used by the Great Maker for his own purposes, not for ours."

The Bonesinger, to your shock, leaned in. She whispered in your ear. "There exists three routes to arrive - within, beyond and through." She smiled, slightly. "Also, do the mathematics on the use of Elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?" you asked, frowning. "What's Elsewhere?"

A memory tugged at you...

"Elsewhere is a dimension used to store the devices and constructions of the Exalted - it also is where Autocthon retreated, to sleep out the ages-" Devi started.

You sprang to your feet. "Elsewhere is to time as the Webway is to space, they're built on the same Emperor be damned substrate!" You ran to the board, casting the paper aside and scrawling frantically. "Anything can exist in the Wyld, the Warp, anything, anything at all! The palace of ----" You barely noticed that the word didn't leave your lips, that the ELdar in the room all galred at you. You were too busy scribbling. "The bloodfields of the Great Ax, even the brawling of Gork and Mork, all of it exists in the Warp! But, see, here!" you pointed at a scrawl of complex equations. "This lays out the basic principles of motonic physics, using an apature focus and certain high powered psychoactive structures, say, uh, uh, uh..." You tapped your temples. "Wraithbone! That was it! Yes! Yes!"

You turned back to the board, scribbling more. "You can turn anything into something, because anything isn't useful, no, no, no! Anything is anything, anything is useless, it can be flowers or it can be fire, or it can be flowers and fire, or up and down, at the same time! Worse than useless. But something, you can use something! Wraithbone collapses the Warp into threads, the webway, space!" You scribbled wildly, then stepped back, pointing at the board. "See! See!"

"...have you drunk too much kaff today?" Amberly asked.

The Eldar looked askance - save for the Bonesinger, who was grinning, nodding.

"The webway exists by threading the warp into tunnels! Elsewhere exists by carving a chunk of the warp off! But instead of space, it's time. Everything in elsewhere lasts forever, because there's no temporal function! But they use the same substrate. That's why the Craftworld flew into Autocthon, because Elsewhere IS the frakking Webway!"

Everyone kept looking at you.

"Which means there's a back door!" you said, excitedly, turning back.

"A back door!?" The Estasian asked. "Where?"

"Commorragh," a male Eldar said. Everyone looked at him. He sighed. "It's always Commorragh, in the end."

"...or we can just...fly over the skin and drill in," Brutus said, having taken this all quite plegmatically.

You blushed.

That did cover all the options, yes.

---
Which way, then? Each option is equally difficult in a different way

[ ] Within - trek through the reaches
[ ] Without - drill in from the outside
[ ] Beyond - Head to Commorragh first

Spoiler: Mechanics!

Guess who rolled 9 fucking successes on their occult roll...41-22, it was diff 4, jesus christ...

Health: Fine
Anima: Dim
Willpower: 5/5
Personal Motes: 13/13 | Peripheral Motes: 28/28 (Committed Motes: 5)
Limit: 1/10 (Trigger: Being stymied by indulges around her)
XP: 0 | Solar XP: 2
Major Projects: 0/5
SXP: 21 | GXP: 36 | WXP: 11

 

[samdamandias]

You have forgotten something.

Click to shrink...

I mean, that's only slightly less ominous than "You will now experience an epiphany."

Everyone of the delegates all looked at a tough jawed woman in a simple but brightly colored uniform with a high white cap. She sighed, then said: "Project Razor was a joint Narudi-Clasati effort to retard the Blight Progress of the Great Maker and, possibly, expand human capacities to survive within the realm of brass and shadows. It...sort of worked."

Click to shrink...

Very interesting.

As Mark Train put it, it's not what you don't know that will kill you, but what you know that just ain't so.

[X] Within - trek through the reaches

We are under no circumstances letting a Sidereal loose in the Dark City. The only thing worse would be setting a Getimian loose, and I'm not sure those guys even exist here.

I admit, I was rather hoping someone would double check 41-22's math, and much like refinements of the Albecurrie drive that went from needing ~3M☉​ of negative mass to move atoms to needing only a Volkswagen Beetle's worth of negative mass to move tens of tons of spaceship. Still impossible, but not as impossible, yes?

There is no way we're getting 28 orders of magnitude, but three, perhaps? Which would reduce the need down to a sphere "only" about 8.5 meters radius (so a bit over 17 meters across) or a cube slightly less than 14 meters on a side. Still impossible, but nowhere near as impossible as before.