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Ribbon Prancer
a76809
>>286557
>>286559
>>286568
>>286593
Considering I can already sense magic and if anything would gain some middling World magic capacity from her soul, the choice seems clear: I must determine if she is a potent enough sensor to 'see' the truth, and if so turn her ability on her with twisted words to smooth this over and induce her into service. I run through predictive pathing concerning branching conversations, check some figures and-
"Arkus, do see if she is alright!"
Phohn, tell Arkus to say nothing until he catches on to what I am doing.
The information was given Administrator Mordre
"Can you rouse her?"
As Arkus waves an herbal brew beneath the pale, almost ephemeral girl's nose, she slowly awakens-eyes slipping past Arkus to my glittering form almost instantly, but before she can even react I begin to speak, my words pitched as if from a genial grandfather.
" Oh, that scamp Ellayia! She liberally interpreted a request AGAIN, and here you are... I do apologize that you came here this way, as now all I want is to offer you a research position under a State Mage-Arkus here, my own personal apprentice-but given the circumstances of your arrival... well, all I can say is I apologize on Ellayia's behalf, and hope we can move past that."
Those wide, clear eyes, so stark and pure, silvery-periwinkle chips that gaze deep and far do not lid as I speak-even as the girl calms and stills a few words in, her eyes stay raptly open, alert, and glued to me. The moment I finish speaking she speaks, her words soft, hesitant-and probing.
>[Kaisera]"So.... where was I taken from? And who did I learn from?"
...She is a truth reader. She saw the Truth of my earlier words, but also wants further confirmation-well, the truth can be applied here, with the misleading base I have built. My dealings with Lenryt and Deep Spawn alike has made me far more practiced at serpentine phrasing.
"Ellayia is something of a character, one of my... less used contacts, I'll admit. You may have some inkling as to why thanks to how you arrived here. I told her to seek out a practiced, proficient World mage-ultimately, I want to offer a young, gifted mage a chance to learn in the State as it grows and expands, and... grow into her own position of authority-with full State funding for research, development, testing and study. You'll get to push magical boundaries to your own whims, if you want. Suffice to say, the fact she chose you was your initial interview and analysis of qualifications-you are exactly the kind of mage I sought."
She looks at Arkus, still squatting down beside her, repacking his vial of smelling herb, attired as a wizard just as she-and I see her eyes flit from staff to axe to body glove-and widen as she stares at his soul-she can see his System-sharp eyes indeed. So... what shall it be, Kaisera?
Finally-
>[Kaisera]"Your words ring too true, your dream proves to appealing to resist-I suppose I am your mage, then-forgive my attitude, but I am still quite agog at the whole situation."
Excellent. Arkus leads her away as I move to my next priority.
>>286558
>>286566
>>286569
I consider 'tea' from Lenryt I preserved and claimed-and I consider the pool of Deep Spawn Blood Iron, finally filled enough for my purposes. After Burduko recovers, he meets me at Mordreden, as I take off my overarmor, cast off my crown and mask, and, finally exposed again, I feast readily on the magic before me-as I send a trio of Pristine Souls into the ensemble, expanding the meager supplies I consume to slowly saturate my body-the ripple-patterned Blootz Steel getting a supercharging far more profound than before. It begins to glow, not just to magical senses but in the visible spectrum, and a nimbus of chormatic light dances about my form, making my appearance, from what I can see in the ice around me, seem perpetually an outline-
[-3 PRISTINE SOULS-----TOTAL PRISTINE SOULS REMAINING: 02]
My body resonates with magic threefold, imbued into my very metal. Belief, proud and sublime, a full spectrum from liquid mercury laced through my form and within my veins. Dream, unreachable yet present, resonates with the power of Deep Spawn essence. I run preliminary calculations based on the power changes-
Between the new Belief and my pre-existing trick of funneling excess Belief back into empowering my own soul, I have increased my magical regeneration capacity by a third, in comparison to what it would be without such alterations-this boost will scale with the total soul mass of my Eden, so far as I understand the magic linkages-so much of Belief is new ground to me. I know that, should I ever gain capacity for Dream magic, I will be able to use the Dreameater Blood Iron as a ward and weapon alike against the monsters of the Dream. And lastly, I recognize that the total magic infusion has rendered my innate grasp of Curatiomancy to bridge the gap between my Administrator status soul and the Soul Eden I inhabit.
I finally find myself in possession of Deep Spawn regenerative capacity-still no spawn to be seen, but between faith soldiers and guardian golems, I can hardly complain.
I reclad myself in my guise, only glimpses of my otherworldly glow spilling out from the goints of my armor
My next move is simple-I ask Dregas to secure a sample of each of Gialgorra's perpetual engines, and to have Burduko bring them to the Mordreden exit point. He replies that he should be able to get them for me in an hour, what with past dealings with Gialgorra-but that between this and Ellayia, we are back down to 2 million marks in debt. ...It never ends.
Either way, I spend an hour walking amongst the Premen, showing them my new splender-that respect that danced in Lorgk's eyes since first I met him has turned to reverence, and Oggroth looks ready to worship to ground I walk on. From one and all I feel Belief in my strength being kindled as I idly demonstrate my flight, my new weapons, my power to the eager crowd. Even Heol, Jojo's current Souldreaming pupil, does what she can to make her approval noticed. When the engines arrive, I bring them with me to Dorgrum, and explain their function and source, and my desire simply to know how to Restrict my own Deep Spawn, and how to make an Organic Soul Grave. I then offer the accompanying sample of magitech goods from the state to learn of how to make inorganic Soul Graves. Dorgrum tells me Eldghodd will only agree to the first, and so for now I make due, as the tentacled, mountainlike and unnatural mountain administrator appears, and pushes thoughts into the surface of my mind, where the Soul Eden's claws reach out to ensnare them-and on, the ideas are pushed, until my soul as well grasps the concepts involved-I grasp how to make Organic Soul Graves, and possess sufficient magic to make them myself, even if the ingredients involved are difficult to manipulate, and I know how to lay Restrictions onto souls, to brand as the Deep Spawn do. All of this, before the sun has fallen from the sky.
>>286578
After insuring the Premen are progressing speedily in adapting the industrial technology they acquired cycles ago, I spend the rest of the night speaking with the Dionepan refugees aboard the Ark Ascendant as I have titled the sphere, and showing them my Faith Soldiers-for I have an idea. I weave a tale to them of the soldiers being my gift to them, in honor of their willingness to follow me-personal protectors, there to support and protect them. I build Belief loops, one person per Faith Soldier, such that each of the thousands of Dionepans sustains their own individual Faith Soldier as personal bodyguard, each crafted by and ultimately subservient to me. An excellent form of both insurance and support for Belief. Anyone attempting to invade.... well, I remember how effective the Soul Soldiers were-twenty THOUSAND of them... I feel a bit more secure about the defensive state of my Sphere, even without Bang yet here. I find myself completely fine spending long hours building up these Faith Soldier-Dionepan bonds, Restricting each to exist only in the Sphere to further anchor them to reality and empower them as defenders.
[DAY 178: DAY 8 OF WEEK 3 OF MONTH 5:]
[Enduday of the Third Cycle of Libiturnius (Summer)]
In the pre-dawn hush, while the Dionepans slumber, Bang arrives.
I greet him before he enters the Sphere, having already Restricted my own soul to only be able to access the Soul Eden's belief while actively piloting it, and Restricting the Soul Eden to not be able to run lest I am actively present to direct its output. I explain to him that I have found another land where people are oppressed-by self augmentive curatiomancer/pomumancer combat magic specialists. And that I need him to familiarize himself with the Ark Ascendant here, and begin to reshape the willing refuges into more capable warriors. He will also be responsible for training them how to fight. Lastly, I say that, in exchange for all the fun he will be having here, he is also responsible for organizing daily shipments of excess food back to the State, to alleviate the strain on the budget. His response gladdens his heart.
>[Bang]"I will make sure you get every last microgram of food not needed to fuel the trainees-oh man, this is gonna be SO MUCH FUN-do I have permission to organize meetings between this and the Metal Skulls division in the Land of Dragons?"
"Count on it."
>[Bang]"[i]AAAAAAHHHH[i] yes, this is going to be incredible.... yes, I will do what you ask of me, with a zeal and ferver some would call psychotic!"
"Glad to know I could count on you Bang."
I spend the rest of the morning checking in on the Land of Dragons-to learn something disturbing-Keddic has sighted Trollzaru in the Land of Dragons-in the War Hound research department. ...He is now a co-worker, recommended by Jioga. He promised Lubu the secrets of Magic Eaters....
This... this cannot stand. The deceiver, the thieving yeti scum cannot be allowed to continue with this. And if I wait long enough, my title as Dragon will become official, and attacking him will become a crime.
Before the sun has risen, Burduko has brought me to the Land of Dragons.
I send a runner to Lubu, informing him of my intent to challenge Trollzaru to a duel to the death, even as I make my way to Keddic, already waiting for me with a gaggle of Ragegluts inquisitively peaking from within their dorms-and eyes widening as they see me jetting by. Keddic directs me to the building next to the one run by Dowsan, and as I push open the doors, throwing light onto Trollzaru's form, hunched over a table in the middle of an experiment, I hear a runner calling out to me as I stride within.
"TROLLZARU! I CHALLENGE YOU TO MORTAL COMBAT!"
>[Trollzaru]"Whoever I was, I am now Jogda, and I wish no quarrel with you."
He does not even move to defend himself as the runner draws nearer.
What should I do?
>[Please cut down on the multiposting.]
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