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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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I just remembered, we've got Drycha's legs and the word we got was that they'd probably make a great Ulgu staff for control.

So lets make one for Eike out of them.

(when she's ready to graduate)
 
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Eike Meets the Real Protagonist
  • Apocrypha
    • BurnNote said:
    You're both wrong. Eike isn't the main character. She's from a rich family, lives with a stern but loving grandmother, her talent was discovered early and she has a powerful lady magister happy to take her on. That's way too easy. Sure, she's got some dark backstory for later on in the story when she becomes friends with the MC, but as a starting point that just doesn't do. She is the rival.

    Like, look at Mathilde: She's quirky, but you have to dig. That doesn't work for the mentor of the MC, not at all. Frankly, I think her obessions with puns, acronyms and naming stuff after herself was a retcon for the Eike spin-off. Before that, she didn't get much screen time. Just the occaisonal mention to make Eike cooler (and pretty nonscensical stuff, I don't think they'll ever explain what the whole dwarf soul thing is about that was metioned off hand when the writers needed Eike to speak dwarf and be familar with their royalty), and wisk her off at the end of the college arc so she doesn't overshadow the others during the later arcs that happen more on the outside.
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    Mopman43 said:
    Specifically the Ojou-sama rival?

    Not exactly the typical personality I don't think, but she's got the background.
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    This is your fault, both of you.

    Eike Meets the Real Protagonist​

    I was walking back to the dormitory from the library, a small stack of books in my arms, going over my recent investigation in my mind—I was getting close to finding another one of the hidden reading spots, I just knew it—when a voice called out to me. I turned to look at Miss Grey, one of my favorite teachers, waving to me from the doorway of her office.

    "Eike, dear, could you spare a moment?" Miss Grey said, opening her door wider and gesturing for me to come in. "I have something I'd like to request of you."

    "Of course, Miss Grey," I replied, hurrying over. I was a little worried about why she was asking for me. Was this about last week's history test? I knew I had gotten more wrong than usual after checking our textbooks, but seriously, it's the modern history of Hochland. Who cared?

    As I entered Miss Grey's office, I noticed the other occupant in the room, sitting in front of Miss Grey's desk. He was a boy, probably about my age, with unruly dark hair and dark eyes. His nose had a scar across it that, matched with his hair, gave him the look of some wild vagabond. No robes, but his clothes were nice and well-kept, if a bit plain. A new student, then. He gave me a curious, appraising look as I entered the room.

    "Eike, meet Markus Kehlmann, a new student to our College that will be starting this week," Miss Grey said, gesturing to the boy and taking her seat at her desk. "Markus, this is Apprentice Eike Hochschild, one of the best and brightest students in her year."

    I nodded to the boy—Markus—internally preening at the praise, and he nodded back.

    "I was hoping you could show Markus around the grounds; show him where things are and how to get around," Miss Grey continued, looking to me once more. She gave a glance to the books in my arms. "If you're too busy, no need to worry, I can find someone else to do it, but I would greatly appreciate it."

    I considered it for a moment. I had to get to sword practice in a little under an hour, and I had to get these books to my dorm now besides, but I should be able to show him most of the College students were allowed in. I nodded to Miss Grey.

    "I have practice in an hour, but I should be able to cover most of the campus, ma'am."

    "Thank you, my dear. I appreciate it, truly," She smiled at me and waved as I beckoned Markus to follow.

    "I have to get these books back to my dorm and get my sword first, but after that, I'll be free to show you around," I said as I heard Markus fall into step beside me. Giving him a glance, he had his arms raised behind his head, looking for all the world nonchalant and unbothered. He was a bit taller than me, which was a surprise, and his every move was casual.

    "Sure, sure, I got time," he replied dismissively. Is it an act, or is he really so uninterested in learning the lay of the land, so to speak? If it's the latter, he'll have a hard time adjusting to Ulgu, I thought.

    After a couple of minutes of walking, we reached the girls dormitories, and I had Markus wait outside as I went in to store my books and get my spadone. Emerging from the dorms, I gave Markus a once over once more as I gestured for him to follow me.

    "Normally, I would start this out by showing you to the dormitories, but given your lack of bags and no obvious bulges in your pockets, I take it you've already been and have dropped off your belongings."

    "What if I didn't have much to start with?" he questioned. Oh, I thought, perhaps he's better suited to Ulgu than first appearances would suggest.

    "Your clothes are too nice, your hair is unruly, but in a way that suggests it's intentional, and your Altdorf accent isn't the right type for some street rat," I answered. "So you're an Altdorf native, and probably from a family well-enough-off to have prepared belongings to boot. That sound about right?"

    Markus grinned a little, looking…surprised? Impressed? It was hard to tell, because he immediately went back to looking carefree and uninterested when I looked over.

    "Yeah, that's right. You're pretty sharp."

    "So I've been told."

    "I'll bet. Say, do all Greys pick up swords, or is that just a you thing?"

    "Well, the sword is the symbol of the Grey College, representing the duty of all Grey Wizards. But this?" I said, holding up my spadone, "This is just me—for the most part. My grandmother hired an instructor from the Bergo Academy, and I've been taking lessons twice a week."

    "Bergo Academy, huh? Ain't that the school set up by that Tilean swordmaster? I heard that place is pretty fancy. Must've cost a pretty penny to hire one of their teachers."

    "Mm," was my noncommittal answer. Right, that was why I hated bringing up Oma and the EIC. It was always the same thing; I mentioned I was technically rich, people got curious, people realized just how far that goes, people started trying to cozy up to me. I had thought it wouldn't be a problem in a College that requires its members take a vow of poverty, but more fool me. I sighed internally, waiting for the questioning and 'idle curiosity' to begin.

    "Well, it's good you're pickin' up the sword. My Da always said that magic's useful, but you can't rely on it like some good steel," Markus said, surprising me. Was he trying to play it off like he didn't care? Trying to play at nonchalance in order for me to lower my guard? Or did he really not care? Were the clothes and middle-class accent a ruse, and he was really from a wealthy family himself and keeping quiet about it?

    Was I being paranoid?

    …Was I being paranoid enough?

    "Anyway, enough about myself, we've a tour to get to," I said, deciding to take his clear avoidance of the topic as the blessing it was. "You know where you'll be putting your head, so let me take you to where you'll be getting food."

    ——​

    After showing him around the cafeteria, which he took a particular interest in, the classrooms, the library—I gave him a hint on the location of one of the hidden reading spots I'd found—and the common areas for students, we finally arrived at the training halls a few minutes before my lessons were set to begin.

    "This is one of the training areas of the Grey College, specifically one of the public ones where outside instructors can come in to train students in extracurriculars," I said, gesturing to a room through an open set of doors. It was the room where I would be meeting Instructor Otto for our lessons that day, but I didn't see him in there, so I figured I had some time to chat.

    "Ah, I take it this is where we part ways so you can have your sword lessons, then?"

    "Mmhm, although it looks like I have a bit of time, so if there's anything you'd like to ask, feel free," Markus was rather casual, I had figured out, but not unpleasantly so. Indeed, it was quite remarkable and refreshing to see someone come at this whole Wizard business so undisturbed. If that made him comparably odd, well, what good Wizard didn't have their eccentricities?

    "If that's the case, then I've been meanin' to ask: why're you botherin' with a sword in the first place? Your family want you to be good at it?" Markus asked. I sighed, externally now. That touched upon the other topic that I had learned to rarely bring up. But I told him to feel free to ask questions, and it would have been rude to say no.

    "Partly, yes. 'It's a sign of high status, knowing how to use a blade,' Oma says. Mostly it's because the Wizard who found me—well, discovered my abilities and brought me here, anyhow—uses one to great effect. Or so I've heard, anyway; haven't actually gotten to see her use it myself, but I hear she's quite good."

    Markus raised an eyebrow at that.

    "What Wizard—a Grey one, by the sounds of it—is known for their ability to swing a sword?"

    Maybe it was because I didn't like his disbelieving tone regarding Mathilde, maybe because I felt he had slighted my own interests in the blade, I bristled at his words.

    "Among many things, Lady Magister Mathilde Weber is known for her prowess with a greatsword," I retorted, perhaps a little petulantly. I almost immediately regretted it, too. Telling people about my relationship to Mathilde often made people worse than the money thing. At least this one made sense in the Grey College; everyone wanted to be friends with a Lady Magister.

    Markus raised his other eyebrow with my outburst, and both proceeded to crawl into his hairline.

    "You know a Lady Magister? Wait. Weber, Weber…I've heard that name somewhere before," Markus paused for a moment, putting a hand to his mouth in thought. Suddenly, he looked up, the light of recognition in his eyes. I winced internally. "You mean that Grey that got made Lady Magister a few years ago? She's famous!"

    I blinked in surprise. Sure, Altdorfers were more comfortable than most with Wizards, but this level of familiarity was surprising.

    "You've heard of Lady Magister Mathilde?" I asked. I knew Mathilde was rather well-known for a Grey Wizard, but I wasn't expecting her to be this well-known. Not outside of Stirland as the Dämmerlichtreiter, at any rate.

    "'Course I do! Like I said, she's famous! She was in the Altdorf Chronicle's 'Wizards to Know' section!" Markus looked more enthused about this than anything else during our tour—besides maybe the food in the cafeteria. "They say she killed a whole Waaagh with a mountain! Rumors say she dropped it right on 'em, crushing every last one. But everyone knows Greys don't do things like that. I bet she used the mountain's shadow to crush 'em all instead."

    That was…wrong, but surprisingly close. I was impressed by his knowledge as a non-Wizard. Well, a recently-made-Wizard, anyway.

    Once more, Markus' face grew concentrated, and he began muttering to himself. Then, all of a sudden, he smacked his fist atop the palm of his hand.

    "Oh, I get it now! You're talented, pretty, rich, connected, and kinda uptight. You're the talented ojou-sama!"

    'Ojou-sama?' What language even was that? It certainly wasn't Reikspiel. And why did it sound like he was describing me like some character from a story?

    "Pardon?" I asked, terribly confused.

    "Ooh, do the ojou-sama laugh!"

    What. "What?"

    "C'mon, you know, it's all like, 'Ohhohohohohoho!'"

    What. "What?"

    "Eh, alright, we'll work on it. I'm glad I met you, Miss Hochschild. I hope we have a long and fruitful rivalry."

    It was then that I realized that the Grey College's newest student was completely and utterly bizarre.


    AN: Well, sorry for the tonal whiplash at the end there. I had the end in mind before writing everything else, so when the "everything else" ended up being a genuine attempt at imagining what Eike's life in the Grey College might have been like and how she would put some of the things the College teaches--constant observation and relentless paranoia, for example--to use, I didn't really know what to do and just sort of smashed the two together. I don't know whether to consider this a dumb joke with way too much build up or an actual character piece with a joke ending.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Mopman43 said:
    I just remembered, we've got Drycha's legs and the word we got was that they'd probably make a great Ulgu staff for control.

    So lets make one for Eike out of them.

    (when she's ready to graduate)
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    For Magister, yes. Not for Journeyman, I think.

    We know from our own graduation that it's traditional for new Magisters to get a staff, but the Grey College has no Turner and may not gain one before Eike makes Magister. As such, making her one, even a more badass one than normal made out of a rarer material, would be an appropriate gift from a master to a former apprentice, I feel, without damaging the point of her Journeying by giving her a bunch of magic swag outside her weight class.

    (giving her nonmagic swag when she goes a-Journeying seems reasonable to me -- making sure she has quality weapons and access to We-silk, assuming it's up and running by then, for instance -- but the prospect of "now you will go learn how to make your way in the world with your magic, except that I'm giving you a bunch of powerful magic stuff you only get because of your connections with me" feels inherently icky to me.)
     
    Alliterate said:
    Do we know if spider silk takes (grey) dye well, though? 🤔
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    Great question. Hopefully the answer is yes, at least for purposes of the robe's aesthetics.

    LittenLeKitten said:
    Eike Meets the Real Protagonist​
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    The forbidden knowledge this child displays... there's no other possibility! Tzeentch has sent an agent into the Grey College to poison the next generation! It's so insidious!

    And hilarious. That one's the giveaway.
     
    picklepikkl said:
    For Magister, yes. Not for Journeyman, I think.

    We know from our own graduation that it's traditional for new Magisters to get a staff, but the Grey College has no Turner and may not gain one before Eike makes Magister. As such, making her one, even a more badass one than normal made out of a rarer material, would be an appropriate gift from a master to a former apprentice, I feel, without damaging the point of her Journeying by giving her a bunch of magic swag outside her weight class.

    (giving her nonmagic swag when she goes a-Journeying seems reasonable to me -- making sure she has quality weapons and access to We-silk, assuming it's up and running by then, for instance -- but the prospect of "now you will go learn how to make your way in the world with your magic, except that I'm giving you a bunch of powerful magic stuff you only get because of your connections with me" feels inherently icky to me.)
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    True, I was more interested in the possibility of enchanted runic kickflip revolvers than actually giving them to Eike straight off, a normal Runic revolver is fine and we could save the silencing enchantment as a gift for her graduation to Magistership alongside a custom staff for her.
     
    NexusEye said:
    @Boney, would this be a viable project, adding an enchantment of Illusion to silence the gunshot of a Runed kickflip revolver?
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    Here's a WoB:
    Boney said:
    agumentic said:
    @BoneyM
    1. If we wanted to concentrate on enhancing pure damage of our marksdwarf pistol as much as possible, should we look at enchantment or at dwarf runes?
    2. Would enchanting our marksdwarf pistol introduce any range limitations, I.E. spell running out of power with distance?
    3. Could we add a silencer enchanted with Illusion to a runed pistol to suppress its sound/muzzle flash?
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    1. Ignoring all other possible considerations? Enchantment.
    2. Depends on the spell.
    3. No.
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    Also, the gyrocopter is much larger, so each of its components has much more space to fit enchantments and to not interfere with each other.
     
    Would Speed of Light make the gyrocopter a lot faster, or is it a fool's dream to enchant it with Battle Magic?

    Edit: probably would need a few powerstones to have it constantly on.
     
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    LittenLeKitten said:
    "Oh, I get it now! You're talented, pretty, rich, connected, and kinda uptight. You're the talented ojou-sama!"

    'Ojou-sama?' What language even was that? It certainly wasn't Reikspiel. And why did it sound like he was describing me like some character from a story?

    "Pardon?" I asked, terribly confused.

    "Ooh, do the ojou-sama laugh!"

    What. "What?"

    "C'mon, you know, it's all like, 'Ohhohohohohoho!'"

    What. "What?"

    "Eh, alright, we'll work on it. I'm glad I met you, Miss Hochschild. I hope we have a long and fruitful rivalry."

    It was then that I realized that the Grey College's newest student was completely and utterly bizarre.
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    I didn't understand anything in that part. What is happening?
     
    HeWhoLurks said:
    Would Speed of Light make the gyrocopter a lot faster, or is it a fool's dream to enchant it with Battle Magic?

    Edit: probably would need a few powerstones to have it constantly on.
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    I assume Speed of Light only works on people but even if could work on machines, it only actually increases reaction times (Initiative and Weapon Skill), not actual speed (Movement).

    ...On the other hand, it would be very funny to bring it up just so Egrimm's face could contort in an expression somewhere between exasperation and fear.
     
    [X] Guard bypass

    My favorite part about this is the people approval voting for both to avoid the undesirable outcome of [] Both winning.
     
    K von Carstein said:
    And what do those Japanese words mean?
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    Isekai refers to a genre of stories where a, typically modern person, finds themselves transported to an alternate universe. If you've read an SI story on this site, you've read an isekai. This one seems to be using story and character archtypes to classify the people around him, hence him trying to get eike to perform the stereotypical actions of many characters with her background.
     
    K von Carstein said:
    And what do those Japanese words mean?
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    "Isekai" literally means 'another/other/new world', but it refers to the genre of modern fiction where a person (usually a disaffected male youth with no great distinguishing traits to set him apart from the average reader) gets reincarnated in (or physically transported to) a different world, parallel dimension or universe or whatever. Typically the purpose of this is a power fantasy, where the protagonist can have all sorts of adventures, powers, romantic interests, or humorous incidents, and usually without actually confronting much in the way of inner conflict or introspection.

    If you go over to the User Fiction section of this site, you'll find a lot of stories labeled SI (self-insert) - these tend to be essentially isekai but with the protagonist being literally the writer (instead of just like, just based on the writer), and also, 'inserting' themselves in existing works of fiction rather than doing something original. Isekais are generally considered trashy and low-brow, appealing to the lowest common denominator of readers. There's a few gems that shine real bright in the overall genre, but they are far and few between.

    Anyway, "European medieval fantasy" (or stereotypes of such) is a common enough setting for isekai worlds, and Warhammer Fantasy at a brief glance has a lot of the same elements of such, such as a planet that is essentially just Earth with the serial numbers filed off, really haughty elves , grumpy dwarves, always-evil/destructive Orcs and Goblins with unfortunate undertones, etc.

    Tangent: In the form of the Everchosen, WHF even has the stereotypical 'Demon Lord': a powerful and usually two-dimensional evil overlord who (every few generations or centuries or whatever) appears (sometimes reincarnating or resurrecting themselves) and leads a great crusade of evil monsters and peoples against all the 'civilized' people of the world, until they are usually defeated by a very stereotypical prophesized Hero. Repeat ad infinitum.

    It's also a common story beat for the protagonists of isekai to get enrolled in a magic high school of one sort or another, because a lot of Japanese writers don't know how to write anything else. Markus being introduced to the Grey College in the way he was is beat-by-beat a common way some isekai do it - the naive newcomer gets guided around the place by a more experienced young woman which generally possesses more nuance, character, and actual interesting traits than the protagonist himself.

    An "Ojou-sama" refers to a Japanese archetype of character that is generally a wealthy, high-class female character. 'Ojou' itself just translates to 'miss', while '-sama' is an honorific that refers to someone you greatly respect. So it essentially translates to 'young lady'. This is essentially what Eike is, amusingly enough - trained for an important family role from a young age, a magical talent blossoming in her at around the age of puberty, personal interest in learning martial techniques (typically to feel she assert some control over her own fate)... The list goes on.

    Edit: Ojou-samas also tend to be somewhat arrogant, and stereotypically have this obnoxious 'O-HO-HO-HO' laugh that they use when mocking someone of a lower class. It's also common for this arrogance to hide insecurities regarding the high expectations placed on their shoulders and/or any tragic backstories. While I suspect Eike could have some insecurities like that (see: how her mother kinda sorta sold her to Wilhemina, how Wilhemina subsequently raised her with expectations of her being the heir to the EIC, how the person she apparently hero-worships came in to take her as Apprentice), she seems humble enough, thankfully.
     
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