Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)13:45 No. 399782 ID: 13dce2
File 133400433363.png - (39.46KB , 700x600 , outsidethemanse.png )

Once more we return to a SHADOWY LAND, bathing under the light of the FULL MOON. On the heights of a hill overlooking a darkened town, in a large strange house, in an unlit room, a newborn champion of that silvered eye slumbers.

In that room, an unborn Titan sleeps.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)13:45 No. 399783 ID: 13dce2
File 133400435223.png - (67.17KB , 600x600 , saulannasleeping.png )

But not for much longer.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)13:46 No. 399784 ID: 13dce2
File 133400439181.png - (76.95KB , 600x600 , saulannawakes.png )

Again, you are SAULANNA RICANYA ROCKBLOSSOM: amnesiac genius, a MOON HERO endowed with the spirit of the noble RACCOON, and a number of OTHER THINGS BESIDES. You find yourself awakened by a knocking at the door; the sound rouses more than your own senses.

>"Welcome back to the waking world, my lady. I hope you feel well rested?"

Hiya.

What were we up to again?

We were trying to find out how shit worked. Found out how shit works yet, Saulanna?

Also, fuck yes this is back

>>399784
Get up and get dressed. Stunt turning the sheets into a kimono for the fun of it.

if clothes are far away just use blanket as toga.

>>399787
Great plan. Then pace back and forth while wondering what to do next.

When someone comes to the door to speak with you, hit them in the face with a pillow from across the room.

>>399784
Check if there is any partner there in the bed with you.

Might want to get dressed. People tend to actually hold conversations when they are not looking at your cleavage.

If there isn't one, finding one is clearly our next adventure.

FIND PEREGRINE.

His name is actually Shadow In The Wings now.

Clothing, then answering the door, seems like a good plan.

also inquire if wordblood has a sex drive, because if so, creepy.

>>399802
I assumed that was what the digested souls were for.

>>399803

For boning? That's... also creepy. Wordblood sex drive is worth determining.

No clothing, answer the door.

>>399805
>>399802
Wait, Wordblood joined up with us, right? That says to me that he has our sex drive. He isn't perving on us, because WE don't perv on us.

On the other hand, that delicious ghost we ran into before may be having an interesting night, not to mention Shadow.

>>399784
Get partially dressed then answer the door.

>>399811

>>399799
If we go around saying people's true names then somebody will overhear us sooner or later, and we wouldn't want that. He remains Peregrine in conversation.

>>399794

boring conversations.

>>399799
Which is something that we really shouldn't be saying to anyone ever. He knows his Name, we know his Name, anyone beyond that is only showing others a weakness to exploit.

So what's our first order of business? Learning sorcery? Devouring souls? Figuring out how to travel beneath the bottom of the Underworld to claim the tortured spirits of the Titans within the Labyrinth as our own? Or just breakfast?

>>399820

Pants

Hey, aren't the Shadowlands retarding our mote recharge? I vote leave Shadowlands. That's just in the midterm though but I don't their is any reason for us to stay for very long.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)16:16 No. 399827 ID: 13dce2
File 133401336046.png - (113.51KB , 1000x500 , saulannayawn.png )

>>399785
Last thing Saulanna remembers, she was forcing the person responsible for her condition, a DEATH HERO called PEREGRIN KAAN, into a magical oath of fealty. Her memory on the subject seems very clear, as if she could easily read through it again in her head, somehow. Almost as if it were mentally ARCHIVED in some manner!

Clearly, however, things have advanced a bit from there.

>"Apologies; I've been trying to categorize the memories we've accumulated, and some seem to have slipped into the cracks. I could retrieve them easily enough."

>>399786

Not yet!

>>399799
>>399813
>"Peregrin Kaan is his mortal name. Shadow In The Wings is his True Name. Generally speaking, it is... polite... to refrain from using the true name, save for specific purposes."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)16:17 No. 399829 ID: 13dce2
File 133401347998.png - (95.67KB , 1000x500 , saulannawrapsup.png )

>>399820
>What's our first order of business?

Isn't that up to you? Although, perhaps Saulanna could mentally review a list of TASKS she's accepted...

>>399802
>"Sexuality is a complex subject for spiritual entities such as myself. Currently, I have no particular interests that I can identify."

Another knock. While Wordblood talks, Saulanna moves to answer the door.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)16:21 No. 399831 ID: 13dce2
File 133401370530.png - (83.54KB , 600x600 , maidintro.png )

>"Ah, oh. Hello! I hope I'm not disturbing you, uh, mistress. Lord Kaan sent me to see if you needed anything. A lamp, perhaps? It looks awfully dark in there..."

>>399827
Memory retrieval, hmm? Yes, just a brief summary of our activities since the last clear memory, please.

>>399829
Oh yes, reviewing our TASKS would be nice too, but I believe I can remember at least one- we were trying to find the music box's owner, weren't we? To reunite our ghost friend with her?

>>399831
It seems like we can see well enough, so tell her no thanks. Speaking of seeing, there's something on the bedstand- what is it?

Grab her and kiss her

Tell her you're fine.

Ask for some food

>>399831
She's cute. Seduce her.

>>399827
>"Apologies; I've been trying to categorize the memories we've accumulated, and some seem to have slipped into the cracks. I could retrieve them easily enough."
Please do, or at least the highlights. Amnesia is a terrible thing and we've had more than enough of it already.

>>399831
We don't seem to have any trouble seeing in the dark, so a lamp is unnecessary... although honestly, we're not doing anything useful in here so let's get going... though, clothes first.

"I should get dressed... help me select something, please."

Wordblood, do we know who this is and we've forgotten her name? That would be embarrassing. If not, we should get her name.

>>399836
AGREED.

+ "I can see fine."

let's NOT seduce everything we meet. being a friend is nice though. but JUST friends. and yeah, if we know her name would be best to use that. if not then get it. seem fine with the light lvl. food maybe?

>>399841
But we're a Lunar :c

No seducing. We are a classy lady and we will not sully ourselves with the help.

But yes, we are fine and clothing would be nice. A list of TASKS would help along with a bit of those recent memories.

Strange, she looks like a living mortal. I had thought all of Peregrine's subjects were ghosts.

Nah you can see fine. Classy clothing would be nice, if you would be so kind, maid.

>>399831
Ok, first rule of living in a castle: Be nice to the staff. They can go anywhere, and people care little about what they hear. If they like you enough they can give you a heads up when skullduggery is afoot, hide you from trouble, and get you things you need when official channels won't do.
"Mmm... I think a lamp would be nice. Although I could use your help with something else for now. Give me a moment to get dressed. You can put that down."

Gently close the door, then quickly get dressed.
We're going to ask her for the unofficial tour, and ask her questions about the power players here while we're on it. We want to find out what the staff knows about them and ourselves.

Oh, and wordblood? We saw that. You can be subsumed into Saulanna if you want, but you aren't going to be taking over. Got that?

>>399856
Saw what?

"A lamp, yes. And some food. And... do you have any good clothes I could try?"

>>399831
Ask her to inform him that we're fine.

If pressed, do the glowy thing.

>>399866
> food

Yeah, changing vote. FOOOOOOD.

>>399860
Look CLOSELY at the title image. "TITAN QUEST"

>>399869
That seems far more likely to be an accurate representation of the current state of affairs- that is, a Lunar with a Titan hidden inside her- than of any kind of sinister plot on Wordblood's part.

>>399872
Yeah, unborn Titan and all that.

>>399831
No, but thank you for your concern. Ask her name and if she'll be your maid for the duration of your stay.

>>399866

Clothes. Blanket-toga will be problematic in event of needing to do move around quickly.

Also food, because food is important.

Ask Wordblood how much time has passed since the battle and if we've met the maid already. Otherwise, inquire about food, lamps and her name.

Let's check out that LIST of TASKS.

Get LIST of TASKS.

Request FOOD and CLOTHING, on the assumption that nudity is taboo around here.

Get LIST OF TASKS, and MEMORY CLIFF NOTES from Wordblood.

Request FOOD and DRINK, COMFORTABLE CLOTHES, and an OIL LAMP. Just 'cause you can see in the dark doesn't mean everyone else that comes in here can.

I vote Task list and recent memory location.

Looks like our new slave host has been quite accomodating to us. Must remember to thank him for his hospitality. So what can we do today?

When we've got a moment, offer a prayer of gratitude to Luna, for the strength to protect her loved ones and find happiness. Because people usually pray when they need help, but don't think too often about how the big rock in the sky is feeling. Or so I'd assume.

Thank the maid for her concern and ask how she's doing. After all, it always pays to show others a little kindness.

Then we ought to take care of our appearance. For clothing, I'd recommend something simple and modest that allows freedom of movement; while we're picking those out, check ourself for any identifying marks. Old scars, tattoos, piercings, missing pieces, that sort of thing.

After we're presentable, we can see about getting some food.

>>399914
This. She did exalt us, after all. And if not for that, we likely wouldn't have Wordblood.
Speaking of Wordblood, what're his opinions on Luna?

>>399914
I think we should ask the big sky rock how she's doing. Don't ask her for stuff. We have stuff. We're working on stuff.

Just check in to see how she's doing.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)20:12 No. 399919 ID: 46d846
File 133402757335.png - (96.91KB , 800x500 , saulannaremembers.png )

>Task List

- Discover the reason for her situation - Complete
- Escape pursuit - Annulled
- Help GEVIN deliver the MUSIC BOX to RUIVE
- Teach Peregrin how to use POWER WORDS
- Acquire TITAN'S WILL by:
--- Absorbing souls
--- Absorbing Titan Fragments
--- ????


>Retrieve memories

Saulanna takes a moment to concentrate as she feels Wordblood return the missing memories to her mind.

After taking Peregrin's oath, Saulanna revealed her existing goals and obligations. Peregrin, in turn, explained that anything requiring departure from this SHADOWY LAND would have to wait until morning. Such places as this are where the LAND OF THE DEAD meets the LAND OF THE LIVING, and attempting to leave at night, when the land is furthest from the sunlit world, would lead into the dark realm of the Dragon's Shadow. To demonstrate the truth of this, he escorted her to the border of the land, where she was able to behold for herself the BLACK VEIL of the lightless underworld. Once, Peregrin had said, it had been possible to force one's way into the correct paths by magic, but the Dragon's dominion had reinforced the walls between worlds, barring against all but the mightiest sorcery. Shortly after, you decided to revert to human form, whereupon the accumulated exhaustion of the day hit you fully, and Peregrin brought you back to his home.

Strangely, though Saulanna feels that she's rested a full night, and feels certain that about eight or nine hours have passed, it's still dark outside! What's more, although Wordblood agrees with her time assessment, her innate link to the moon insists that hardly any time has passed at all... reckoning by the motion of the heavens.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)20:14 No. 399920 ID: 46d846
File 133402768349.png - (117.79KB , 1000x500 , saulannatieshair.png )

>Seduction

Saulanna's AROUSAL is too low to accept sexual commands!

>Saulanna can see fine

Saulanna reckons that the maid's ACUITY is nowhere near as ASTONISHING as her own is. If she wanted to create light, she could just illuminate the DIVINE BRAND on her forehead, but it would not be easy to turn off. She decides to ask for a lamp, after a few other inquiries.

>>399833
>Speaking of seeing, there's something on the bedstand- what is it?

It's Saulanna's hairband! Thanks for the reminder!

>Food

>"Well, I could bring you something, if you like, certainly! I suppose I should have brought something, but Lord Kaan usually takes his meals in the dining room, or while he's working... I think he might be eating now, actually. I was told to ask if you'd like to join him."

>>399853
>>399866
>Do you have any good clothes I could try?

>"Ah, now that I'm ready for! I gathered up a bunch of things that I thought would fit in this basket, along with some things Lord Kaan said belonged to you before?"

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/09(Mon)20:16 No. 399921 ID: 46d846
File 133402777105.png - (99.79KB , 600x800 , saulannadressup.png )

>"We have plenty to work with, and I can probably work up something quickly myself if we're missing anything you really want. So what would you like to wear?"

Saulanna pictures herself, activating PAPER DOLL MODE!

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)20:24 No. 399923 ID: affb00
File 133402826328.png - (96.49KB , 600x800 , saulannasteve.png )

I think this will pretty much rocket us straight up to MAXIMUM AROUSAL

>>399921
Ask Wordblood to take a look at the merging process and see how things are going there. We want to make sure Saulanna is the dominant persona, and that there is as little cross-contamination as possible.

After the paper doll, lets find out the name of the maid and ask her for a tour. We'll eat with her while we find out more about the area and its people.

How long do we have? I won't be back to something with paint till tomorrow morning

>>399923

>>399929

[I'm going off for the night, now, so at least a day.]

It would not be that surprising for a shadow realm to have a weird day/night cycle, though we should still ask about it.

>>399916
Actually, Wordblood was lodged in our head from Perigrines experiments, which were before and (as far as we know) entirely unrelated to our exaltation.

A quick recap of Wordblood and the gods:
Titans (one of which Wordblood was a part of) created the world and the gods, but eventually the gods rebelled against and deposed the titans, killing/mutilating/imprisoning them in a variety of unpleasant ways (which may or may not have been necessary to stop the titans from returning the favor).
Because of this, Wordblood feels betrayed by the gods and has the (fairly reasonable) concern that the gods' animosity towards the titans will extend to us if they find out about our nature.

(It might be possible to get along with the gods, but before revealing our nature we should first be prepared for the scenario where they react by sending armies and/or groups of epic exalts after us. After all, a new titan could easily be interpreted as a growing threat to stamp out before it gets out of hand.)

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)21:10 No. 399948 ID: b0d466
File 133403101532.png - (159.54KB , 600x800 , DressUpTime.png )

Wheeee~

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)21:27 No. 399951 ID: b85f8c
File 133403207964.png - (67.12KB , 600x800 , pompasaulanna.png )

>>399921
This'll make you look cool and tough.

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)21:31 No. 399953 ID: 784dcc
File 133403227735.png - (96.91KB , 600x800 , 133402777105.png )

>>399923
I believe this is the other traditional offering?

>>399948
Voting for this.
Also, say we would like to eat with Peregrine, and ask the maid her name on the way down.

This particular disembodied voice is not good at art, but would like to vote for trying on a Gothic Lolita dress.

Can we get the hair back down? Please? Or at least in the old hairstyle. The giant poof doesn't work.

>>399956
But the giant poof is the best part of her design. If anything, it should be made larger. Saulanna is a Lun- Moon Hero. Not only can she have hair that drags along the ground and extend two feet above her head, and not only will it not weigh her down, but she could attack people with prehensile hair if she wanted to and had the right Moon Powers.

Also think we should look through the vanity drawers, see what the cloth on the couch and the little thing next to it are, and see what's behind the door other than the one the maid came through.

>>399956
I'm thinking we should braid it. That should keep it firmly under control so as to avoid the horrible fate that is >>399963. The servant girl can help, though with the horrible swarm of hair that we currently possess bringing it all under direct control might take a while.

>>399968
Please restrain the RPG-hero impulse to open every chest and explore every room so that we can get all the treasure. Peregrin owns this place and works for us; we can get whatever it has to offer from him without wandering around looking for it ourselves.

Speaking of what it has to offer, perhaps he has a library. Wordblood would probably appreciate that, and if we can still absorb the knowledge from books near-instantly thanks to his abilities then a trip there could be a very productive experience.

>>399970
Fair enough. Still would prefer to either keep pouf or have hair down.
>>399948
For shoes, voting for either wooden sandals or sturdy leather boots. Former for cool factor, latter for practicality(plus boots seem to go well with jackets).

Oh and before we forget, can you get Wordblood to check to see if he's growing stronger compared to you, and if that's a problem? Would he start to take over control? If so, would applying TW directly to saulanna fix that issue?

>>399977
Yes, I do believe one of our next uses of TW should be into Saulanna's Soul Force. But that can wait for a more appropriate time.

>>399948
I like this, out of the current choices, but I'd like to see some more serious submissions first. Curses being bad at art! Then again, if I was good at art, I would do my own quest.

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)22:39 No. 399981 ID: 784dcc
File 133403635049.png - (82.70KB , 600x800 , saulannadressup.png )

In case it's useful

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)23:02 No. 399992 ID: b0d1a8
File 133403776329.png - (138.95KB , 600x800 , paperdoll.png )

This is the right setting for this right?

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)23:09 No. 399994 ID: 784dcc
File 133403819502.png - (79.66KB , 600x800 , saulannadressup.png )

>>399993
Layers are so useful for the graphically challenged, I admit.
>>399958
You did it faster, I guess. A good option.

>>399994
I meant layered clothing. I really like layered clothing.

>>399993

Really like this one.

>>399993
I love it! And if you need mobility, it looks so easy to get out of!

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)23:20 No. 400007 ID: 784dcc
File 133403883098.gif - (59.49KB , 600x800 , saulannalayers.gif )

>>399996
Oh. Well, I like layers because it helps conceptually and lets you mess up without messing up what you're drawing over. And do things like this.

Tluthal 2012/04/09(Mon)23:23 No. 400009 ID: 9d1d2b
File 133403901784.png - (106.03KB , 600x800 , saulanna.png )

... I may have to do more of these. This was ridiculously fun and easy.

Suggestion 2012/04/09(Mon)23:28 No. 400014 ID: 673411
File 133403932691.gif - (97.29KB , 600x800 , I\'mSoGladILearnedHowToAnimateInPhotoshop.gif )

>>400007
Yes, that is handy too.

I was just talking about the clothing, but indeed, my own drawing uses 3 layers for clothing, and a layer mask for the whites in the clothing.

>>400009
"But I never met a gypsy!"

>>400016
"Yes you did. She's probably looking for you."

>>399953

Can't go wrong with this

>>399953
with some pockets and stuff on the outside. Combat harness or something.

>>399993
This seems to be the nicest.

>>399993
I'm a fan.

really fancy designs there you guys, but how about something more practical for a shapeshifter?

>>399993
I wholeheartedly endorse this.

>>400049
While on the one hand shapeshifting, on the other hand, we are a physical-tertiary character in the center of our vassal's power with no expectation of immediate danger. If we're shapeshifting something has probably gone very wrong in our day.

Holy shit yesssss

>>399993
This.

>>399992
JUST KIDDING THIS THIS THIS

>>400049
"Practical" is the exact opposite of how you design clothes for lunars, or an Exalts in general.

>>399993
This!
>>400006
Exactly. Useful for a shapeshifter.

Suggestion 2012/04/10(Tue)07:18 No. 400085 ID: 117433
File 133406752826.png - (120.32KB , 600x800 , Saulanna Costume 1.png )

You can't see it from this angle, but the shirt is backless, and connects at the neck and mid-back, and the sides of the pants will stretch somewhat to accommodate anyone who just so happens to turn into an eight foot tall raccoon monster while wearing them. No sense in being a nude eight foot tall raccoon monster if you can help it. The arm-warmers warm her arms (what is the climate like, anyway?) and the lack of shoes are because shoes prevent you from communing with Mother Luna (and are also hard to draw with no artistic talent).

>>400049
My design is actually intended to be relatively practical. might want to loosen the sash a bit first, but a large full-circle skirt with say a drawstring waist and top designed after a kimono has enough fabric that a sudden transformation won't rip everything, will allow for some good mobility in eight-foot-tall racoon monster form and one could remove the skirt or just hike it up into the waistband for further mobility in human form.

... Why no I haven't had to figure out why a gypsy smith wears this getup [besides it being easy to draw].

But discussion is for the discussion thread so I will shoosh now.

YES!! finally lunar quest is back!

>>399993
There are many great options here, but this one is the best. Totally.

>>399993
Another vote for this.

So, is it the Shadowland the reason their is no color or this the stylistic choice?

>>399919
> Barrier between worlds
MEANWHILE, IN TWILIGHT PRINCESS

>>399993
Changing my vote to this, with this
>>399992
as my second choice.

Suggestion 2012/04/10(Tue)10:55 No. 400117 ID: c35ddc
File 133408054825.jpg - (119.89KB , 600x800 , SomethingSimple.jpg )

Something simple and easy to draw. Plenty of room to move in, simple and loose enough to accomidate for larger shapeshifted forms... and one piece, so enough for a little raccoon to drag along as a bundle or something I guess

Suggestion 2012/04/10(Tue)11:12 No. 400120 ID: 2563d4
File 133408153881.png - (54.00KB , 600x800 , saulanna-paperdoll-dejavu.png )

>>399921
Waking up with an ethereal power-boosting wormy thing inside you, having to assemble clothing from assorted fabrics?

There's an app for that.

>>399993
This one, this one!

Hooray, it's back!

>>399992

Seems good. Even has pockets! Pockets to stuff full of STUFF.

>>400117
> applying logic to exalted clothes
stop that.

>>400117
>>400120
My two favorites thus far

Raycaster!k6uRjGDgAQ 2012/04/10(Tue)14:23 No. 400138 ID: bb3991
File 133409299810.png - (110.60KB , 600x800 , 133402777105.png )

Lunar fighting exalt
ROCKBLOSSOM!

>>400138
This is getting silly!

Suggestion 2012/04/10(Tue)15:43 No. 400147 ID: 2563d4
File 133409782370.png - (52.25KB , 600x800 , saulanna-paperdoll-RAWK.png )

>>399921
THE ANSWER'S PLAIN AS BLACK AND WHITE, AND I CAN SEE THE PICTURE VERY CLEAR

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/10(Tue)19:23 No. 400198 ID: 46d846
File 133411099465.png - (160.87KB , 1000x700 , SaulannaStatschapt2.png )

So many possibilities! For now, Saulanna asks the maid to put together one of the most appealing designs, and adds a few extras as well to see how they look. She gains +5 PRETTINESS.

Saulanna also takes a moment to reflect on her current STATISTICS, though not including her array of specific powers. In particular, she notes that she and Wordblood are currently measured equally in terms of SOUL FORCE, rating at 2 each. She possesses just enough TITAN'S WILL to increase one of them to 3.

>"I would recommend adopting your rightful position of dominance, my lady, if you feel it wise to expend this little we have now. There are, of course, many other possibilities to consider."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/10(Tue)19:26 No. 400201 ID: 46d846
File 133411118731.png - (142.53KB , 1000x500 , saulannaconsidersclothes.png )

After a moment, Saulanna decides she can do without the circlet and jacket for now - no need to layer on too much when it's not necessary, she'll save them for when she needs them. She also asks the maid to put together a few of her other ideas as well, in case she find she wants those later on too. And speaking of the maid...

>"Oh, my name? Um, right, of course. Just a moment..."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/10(Tue)19:27 No. 400202 ID: 46d846
File 133411126989.png - (95.79KB , 600x600 , alicenote.png )

>"My name is... a... ah-li... Alice. I think that's how you say it."

What a strange name.

>>400198
Aww yeah gurl, be dominant~

Does she have to write her name down? Why is that?

((Feel free to post more costume designs in questdis if you like; they can still become part of Saulanna's wardrobe in the future.))

PUT YOUR DAMN HAIR DOWN! Or do something with it that makes it look less ridiculous.
>>400203
Blame Shadow, probably.

That's....odd.

Head down to the dining room and EAT.

ask her why she needed to read it. could be she just wanted to not say her real name , maybe warned about true names?

>>400198
Let's meet with Peregrin before expending any Titan's Will. He will be able to give us a better idea of what resources are now available to us, which strongly influences how carefully we need to husband our resources.

>>400202
She has a note! It is full of delicious words and we must read it!

Then we'll read the library. When we see Peregrin, we must inquire after his books, and read them all!

whats up with alice needing to keep her name on a note?

>>400198
Do it.

>>400202
"Who gave you that alias, and why?"

I think we are better off saving our TW for now.

>>400203
Peregrine mentioned that he tried the mindwipe thing before with only partial success. It is best not to mention it to her, since I don't think we currently have the magic to do something about her condition.

>>399993
If it won't interfere with shapeshifting to much i like this one

>>400214
Do you really think Saulanna is the sort of girl to use the term 'alias'? Consider what we've seen of her so far.

>>400201
Yeah, let's just head down to dinner. When was the last time you ate? Can you even remember?

Oh, and buff up Soul Force. You'll need it if you ever want to properly master the art of USING TREES AS PROJECTILE WEAPONS. Plus, who knows what will happen if Wordblood gets more than you have.

And do nothing about the hair. It is a mane that perfectly suits a member of Luna's Chosen.

>>400216
damnit to slow
>>400215
I agree seems the most likely cause and i think we should wait till we have more TW never no what might pop up

One gets the feeling this has something to do with... Peculiarities of the past. Not the direct past, The Past past.

... Hm, no use not chatting with her, at any rate.

Since she seems unsure of the pronunciation, politely ask if we could see the note.

If we're going to spend TW, it should be on soul force. Giving Wordblood power beyond our SF rating seems like a bad idea.

>>400202

"You don't seem too sure of that. Is something wrong?"

Bank your TITAN'S WILL for now. There could eventually be other, better uses for it, and there's no urgent reason to expend it now.

Say that you're very good with speech and languages and ask if you could look at her note to check her pronunciation. Whether she agrees or not, head on down to meet Peregrine for a meal. On the way ask Alice to point out the way to the important locations in this place, especially the library.

>>400198
Let's conserve what TITAN'S WILL we have for now, as there might be alternate channels for us to apply it in. Until we know of these, assuming they exist, we should wait before spending it.

Go to the dining room and eat, then proceed to the Library for a second course. Also, inquire as to the status of our ghostly friend.

If there's a mirror about, check clothing and admire self.

The do a little dance.

Sex isn't chatting, by the way :v

I say we should increase our Soul force.

If there's nothing else that Titan's Will can be spent on besides your soulforce and your wordblood, ramp up your soulforce so you can do more crazy moon shenanigans.

Why does she need to look up her own name? That's worth asking. (Hint: I suspect she is FIBBING and that is NOT her real name in which case WHY IS SHE BOTHERING because we DON'T REALLY CARE THAT MUCH)

Use that TW on yourself!

Also let's go eat with mister fancy.

Don't we still have several unabsorbed souls in our head? And several more on our lands?

Last time we got into a bit of a tiff about the absorbing souls thing... In this world a soul who "passes on" is naturally "recycled" into its component soul energy, destroying all memories of its life, and then the energy used for creating a new being.

Saulina can absorb those memories (the useful ones, filtered through word-blood) and merge with the raw soul to increase her own... and for some reason that got us freaking out. So how about we just sidestep this entirely trumped up moral issue (Caused by misnaming abilities and incorrect assumptions about how the world works (immortal souls? afterlife? psha!)

Basically, sidestep the whole shebang by upgrading wordblood in a very specific manner, namely, the ability to extract all memories, merge with the soul force, copy the useful memories, and then reassemble the persona inside you in a segmented manner such that it lives in a heaven of sorts inside you but does bleed over into your personality. We would have to break a few eggs to make that omlet but its not like they have better prospect.

Also, Saulina has a titan soul, Wordblood, and the exaltation soul. So far saulina can upgrade the first two with her will, but she should be able to upgrade and modify the last one as well (perhaps even augment it with other captured exaltations taken from her enemies)

>>400254
TITAN'S WILL can also be used to make new WORDS OF POWER or to DIRECTLY EFFECT REALITY (which I guess would be like a more powerful one-use spell).

For self-buffing, don't use any Will now. There's no immediate need and there are more directly useful things we can get.

The maid's pretty cute. Ask her a bit about herself, but be subtle about it. Being too direct could clue her in about how suspicious we are. Let's start with "That's a nice name. So what's your life like here?"

After we're done chatting, we can thank her for her time and go to meet Peregrin.

>>400202

Well that's pretty fucking weird. Call her Ali for now that sounds more normal.

I think that was a 4th wall breaking joke where she was a nameless throwaway character until we explicitly asked her name

>>400270
Also upgrade specific sub stats of Saulina or Wordblood (ex: efficiency of consumption) as well as inventing new abilities (ex: the ability to carry/imprison a ghost inside her without absorbing it)
Read the first thread to see what can be done with it.

We know for a fact that souls attached to ours have bleed-over which can exert an as yet unknown amount of influence over us. Wordblood is a nice guy, but there still might be some side effects of being no stronger than he is. Permanent side effects.

Not just from Wordblood, either. That Ghost Boss nearly took over your body, and he was just a ghost!

Expend both TW immediately to upgrade your SOUL FORCE by one.

>>400202
Yeah, quite a weird name. Either way, it's time for some food! Lets go get some, we might see something interesting on the way.

Alice is a beautiful name and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.

ask Wordblood about how the hell you'd be able to teach P-Diddy how to use powerwords.

Let's thank her for her help, and see about the food. Most likely she doesn't remember her name because...well...she's like you...one of PK's previous test subjects...that didn't work out so well.

>>400207

Ask for vegetables

Veggies and fish. Raccoons do eat fish after all.

>>400304

Na Jukashi has enough experience with quests to know not to put in throw away characters unless he plans to kill them right off the bat i think

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/11(Wed)15:02 No. 400392 ID: 8124f3
File 133418177512.png - (83.28KB , 600x500 , throughhall.png )

After weighing the issue, Saulanna decides to hold off on spending more Titan's Will for now. There's no immediate need, Peregrin may have advice for her, and there is the question of when she'll get the opportunity for more. On that subject, what did happen to the ghosts she had in her head?

>"Ah, I took the liberty of releasing them when you were going to sleep, my lady. Gevin was only with us for his safety, and the other should now technically be one of our underlings, under Peregrin's oath. I'm certain we could locate them again, if that was too presumptuous of me."

>>400222
>>400289
After briefly suspecting some form of amusing misread wordplay, Saulanna alas finds that the note does, in fact, read "Alice". No family name. Why then would she have such trouble with it? She decides to simply ask about it as the two of them move out into the hallway.

>"Oh, that's just... well, I can't remember my own name, or... Long story, Lord Kaan tells it better. You want to see him anyway, right?"

Saulanna specifies that she was intending to go to the dining room. Isn't that where he is?

>"Where... oh, sorry! I think I misspoke. When I said I thought he was eating now, I meant he was eating while he works, not in the dining room. That would put him in the study, just over here. The dining room is actually on the far side of the house. I mean, we can still go there, of course! But I could just as easily fetch you something from the kitchen."

Hm. Should Saulanna go talk to Peregrin and let the food come to her, or put him on hold?

Supporting saving Titan's Will. The process is instant anyway, right? No use cutting options.

Also, ask Alice about why she can't remember her own name while finishing getting dressed and going off talking to Peregrin.

>>400392
Let's talk to Peregin. It'll give us something to do.

Sidereal'd by author. :<

There's currently no real reason to go to the dining room. On the other hand, Peregrin will still be around, we'd get a chance to talk more with Alice and we'd get to see a new part of the castle, exploration yay. On the OTHER hand, the information we are most curious about regarding Alice is something that she herself refers to Peregrin about.

I'm voting for asking her to please bring us a snack and go to talk with Peregrin.

>>400392
Talk to Peregrin.

Talk to Perry and get some food sent to his study for you.

>>400392
Talk to Peregrin and have minions bring food. Fetching things is one of the things minions are for, after all. There's really no reason to go exploring on our own when a simple request to Peregrin can have him personally give us a guided tour and answer the incessant questions we will doubtless have.

Go talk with him.

I don't think we want to watch Peregin eat... ever.

go and talk to kaan

>>400409
Nah, Death Heroes probably eat just fine in SHADOWY LANDS.

But you don't want to have their pomegranates.

>>400392
We should get Gevin back since IIRC we were going to help him resolve some things.

Ask if Alice would mind eating with you, since you'd like to hear what she knows of the area. Eating together would help make her not quite so afraid of us, at least.

>releasing Gevin
That's inconvenient. There were things I'd have wanted to ask him; namely, the year in which he died. No big loss, though; it's not like there's anything urgent we need with him.

Out of curiosity, did Gevin ask you to let him out, or did you offer it to him?

That aside, we're certainly going to want to meet with Peregrin. He's probably spent all night worrying about what we were going to do with him; we should put his mind at ease.

>>400393
>Instant
Good point

I also say we meet him in the study and have food fetched for us. And saulina is not a raccoon, she is a human turned into a titan who can transform into a divinely empowered were raccoon. So there is no reason she can't eat human food. Oooh, I wonder if we could use titan will to make it so we don't need to eat at all. (probably could but lets not waste it on this)

>>400398

and make sure to call him Perry.

Nah, you know what? Eat some bacon and eggs in the dining room, with a tall glass of orange juice and buttered toast, let P. Kaan come see you. Make yourself at home, right?

Yeah, go meet with Peregrin, and have a meal sent up. Then you could ask what's the deal with Alice.

Would Gevin be just wandering around Peregrin's place after being released? Maybe Saulanna could ask Alice to find and bring him up to the study while she delivers your meal.

Only increase our power in sync with Wordblood.

We don't want to start some shit with our bro, and we don't want to be outed as a Titanic Host until we are powerful enough to take on the Dragon's Shadow and win.

Hmm, amnesia? Where have we heard of that before?

Isn't it a side effect of attempting to implant Wordblood? Get Alice's story!

Tell her that you don't mind if she's not the greatest storyteller, a tale should come from the heart.

>>400440
>get an amnesiac to tell us her story
There may be a flaw in this cunning plan.

>>400441
I'm betting it's not that she's simply amnesiac, but that she actively and continually forgets her name.

>>400444
Gasp! Perhaps Wordblood ate it!

Talk to Perigrin.

Maybe hit on him a bit.

>>400446
It is the only explanation for her having to read it off a piece of paper she carries with her.
1. She would have memorized it otherwise.
2. She would have thought to look it up otherwise.
3. She would not have it written down on a piece of paper she carriers otherwise.

> Releasing Gevin

Wordblood, you have a lot to learn about maintaining Saulanna's AROUSAL RATING.

I'm guessing that Alice was one of the previous candidates for Wordblood, as mentioned by Peregrine.

You should go talk to him about it.

Introspectively look in mirror.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/11(Wed)22:40 No. 400485 ID: 0a3290
File 133420923366.png - (159.41KB , 1000x500 , peregrinagain.png )

Saulanna decides to go to Peregrin. The door to the study is not far at all; she steps through to see him look up from his desk with a quiet smile. The man responsible for almost everything she is now, save her bond to the moon. And perhaps that, as well?

>"Mistress Rockblossom to see you, milord."
>"Ah! Thank you, Alice."
>"Who?"
>"You."
>"Oh. With your permission, milord, I'll fetch something for her to eat."
>"Whatever she wants, dear."

Saulanna gives Alice a few suggestions as she goes; fish occurs to her, but the only thing she remembers ever eating is a whole raw salmon, which was filling but did not otherwise leave a good impression.

>"Forgive her; she's one of your predecessors, partly. Can't remember anything from before the procedure, but a good and pleasant servant. Ah; but I'm not behaving properly, am I?"

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/11(Wed)22:41 No. 400486 ID: 0a3290
File 133420930789.png - (104.78KB , 600x700 , peregrinkneels.png )

Peregrin calmly gets up, steps forward and goes to one knee at Saulanna's feet. There's a faint gleam of amusement in his eyes as he places a hand over his heart.

>"Your oathsman is ready to serve, my liege lady; and may he venture to remark on how lovely you look in your new garb? Allow me to formally welcome you my home, and your house, a building known to locals as the Needles. Everything here is mine, and everything of mine is yours; I've not fully informed everyone of this new arrangement, only to obey you as they would me, but I await your command."

Ooh. Everything belongs to her? That is true, effectively, now she thinks of it. Feels... nice.

>"Perhaps you'd like to go over what territory and resources you hold, now? There would be a few notes as well on things like politics, the economic situation... rather tedious, and not going anywhere quickly. A discussion of your Titanic nature and where you plan to go with it would take time as well, but I'm sure it'd be very interesting. I have a few options to present along that line that may appeal to you."

It sounds like either of those options will take some time to go over, and involve quite a bit of back-and-forth. Should Saulanna engage Peregrin regarding her holdings, her magic, or something else?

>>400486
Holdings.

Also, test willingness to act as servant v. love of theater by demanding backrubs. If only because I want one myself.

HOLDINGS

>>400486
Have him speak about our holdings first.

Also comment that while the bit with the kneeling is nice, it's not really necessary. Both of us know what our relationship is; there's no need to belabor the point with ornamental actions when we're alone.

Not informing everyone that we're in charge here is probably the right move, really; we don't particularly want a bunch of Sun or Moon heroes hearing about us setting up shop here and deciding to investigate, or other Death Heroes coming to oust us from the Shadowy Lands, so having us keep a relatively low profile while Peregrin carries out our will would be best.

Also, Wordblood- look at that shelf of books! Can you help us instantly read through them all and learn everything inside them, as with that tome in the hut?

Holdings. As a Moon Hero, we must know the lay of the land. Besides, Wordblood can fill us in on any immediately important magic things.

Plus Perry might have a Swift Rider or something for you to ride around on. Haven't you always wanted a magic-powered hoverbike?

holdinations.

Holdings, then titanic nature.

Oh smooth. He bows but clearing he is trying to charm (in the non magical sense), I like it :P.

As for what to go over, both.

>>400486
Feel that, Ricanya? That's the thrill of dominance. Nurture it carefully, and it will serve you well. Just don't let it overpower you; that would be both paradoxical and self-destructive.

"You seem to be taking this rather well. I'm glad. I like the time dilation, by the way; was that your doing, or did it occur naturally?"

"The political situation interests us, but I'm afraid we won't have the background knowledge to understand it. We know little about the major powers of the world, or even the principles on which it operates. First, I should learn about the various beings who inhabit the world, and their relations."

>>400486
Find out more about WHY he did this to people, and how much he actually knows about who Alice was before he experimented on her.

Go over the holdings. If Peregrin has written documentation handy that relates to the holdings, ask to have them placed out so Wordblood can absorb all the details while Peregrin talks. A map would be a good place to start from.

>>400486
Lets hear about Holdings and Magic.

Holdings and assets, I'd say.

>>400486
MAJICKS. Specifically, Wordblood's growth vs yours. Any disadvantages, theorized or otherwise, about putting most TW into wordblood's soul power?

>>400486
Ask who his hair stylist is
It's just too much of a concern to ignore!
And personal trainer, you can detect he has some sweet pecks under those fancy garbs

Let's discuss holdings, then people under our new employ. For example, how many other 'Alices' are there?

I vote holdings, then ask him what's up with the time thing. I mean, you slept for 8 hours, but it's only been five minutes? How does that work?

Yes, the time dilation is something we need to find out about. After we discuss our holdings.

Actuality I'd rather ask about the time thing first i imagine it won't take to long then holdings

>>400488
I also second back rub.

Now I want one.

>>400486
I just noticed that you have a very nice thong on.
Ask Peregrin's opinion about your ensemble. Is it to die for?

>>400575
It's not a thong. It's just a black skirt with a waistline slightly higher to the white one.

>>400579
huh
I see it now
that took forever to see though, I thought it looked weird in this fancy setting.

Go mad with power!

Which is to say, a third vote for backrubs while you get the lowdown on your holdings.

>>400486
Holdings and Time dilation.

Time dilation is a very specific science thing. Let's call is "time lapse" instead, kay? :3

>>400486
Anything urgent?

You could give him a hug...
and say his hair looks nice too.

Those would both be very nice.

holdings

Backrubs and...uh...holdings, sure.

Magic. Hit on him as subtly as you can (the sexy kind, not smacking him).

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/12(Thu)23:25 No. 400744 ID: df49f6
File 133429833949.png - (616.79KB , 700x600 , map1.png )

>"Material concerns first? If you prefer."

Peregrin's dominion - now yours - essentially encompasses the entirety of this SHADOWY LAND, he explains. It lies relatively far into the East (and somewhat North) of the world, not too close to anywhere else of great importance. There are modest mountains to the south, and it is in the foothills of same that there reside three PLACES OF POWER, tapped for magic by Peregrin with, he admits, not great expertise. It is the greatest of these on which this house and its surrounding town are built; that and, not coincidentally, the shattered remnants of some ancient ruins, buried in the earth. The land is mostly settled by ghosts; of the two villages here, only one still maintains a decent number of living humans, who owe fealty to the ruling council of a nearby larger town in the lands of the living; there is some significant tension, there, but manageable. Most of the land is forest, but there is some farmland dedicated to the strange or hardy plants that can grow here.

The economic success of this region depends chiefly on three sources of income: trade in magical scrap (carefully) dug up from the ruins, trade in valuables from the underworld to the living (and in the other direction), and the expertise of the restless dead who reside here. Peregrin, as a DEATH HERO, acts as representative and protector for them, and in return they listen to his advice. With some prodding.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/12(Thu)23:27 No. 400745 ID: df49f6
File 133429847505.png - (66.82KB , 600x500 , talkinboutghosts.png )

>"All the ghosts who dwell here are effectively refugees - as am I. The underworld became a different place when the Dragon's Shadow took over; a land of darkness, filled with his demonic children. It's a more, ah, lively place than it was, paradoxically, nor is it exactly hellish, but... Well, aside the possibility of being made the plaything of a bored Titan's souls, remaining too long in the Shadow will... change you. Those of the dead who can't pass on but don't want to remain in the Dragon's domain are forced to come to lands such as this."

>"I have to say I took advantage of that, to build myself a position of relative comfort and resource, but I fancy it's been a mutually beneficial arrangement. Through me you have command over a kingdom's worth of the dead, some of them quite ancient and powerful, others possessed of valuable knowledge and skills. They're not so much use during the day, of course, but that's life. Or, rather... well."

Saulanna inquires about the time lapse.

>"Ah, that's our friend the Dragon again. He destroyed the Calander that moved the days of the dead, so now time flows according to his will. An hour in a day here, a decade in a month there. Some say he can even undo events that have already happened, though there's no evidence beyond vague rumour. The effect is much reduced here, and we're only part of the lands of the dead when the sun's gone down; but still, we've had nights that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks. That's rare, though, don't worry. I can exert a little control over it, as well, but it's strenuous, and the neighbors don't approve."

Peregrin seems about to start talking about his - your - nation's relationships. Does Saulanna have anything to add before he goes on?

>>400493
>>400525

>"I'd like to remind you, my lady, that while I can instantly absorb any source of written knowledge, it will be consumed in the process."

>>400745
"You have libraries and archives of newspapers going over all of this, correct? Giving me duplicates of all this general information would be faster.

From what I am hearing, you intended to create a benign or benevolent Titan to counter the Dragon Shadow. Can you elaborate on or correct that impression?"

Ask what year it is. If Gevin knows the year he died, we can determine the likelihood of Ruive being alive based on Beastman life span.

You might consider asking Wordblood if he can give back Alice her ability to form memories again.

>>400745
Can he tell us more of these three places of power? We only have modest skills with them at the moment, but we're pretty sharp, perhaps enough to have some insight into potential uses. Likewise I'd be interested in what sort of magical scrap is generally unearthed around here; if there are broken ancient machines, for example, I'd bet that with a bit of practice we could become quite skilled at repairing or replicating them, which could be a first step on the road towards works of truly great artifice.

It's a somewhat awkward topic that definitely touches on our magic quite a bit, but if the economics and politics of the region could support it, making efforts to acquire more souls for us to consume would be highly desirable. Not saying that we should go around devouring villages here, but something on a small scale to ensure a regular supply of additional Titan's Will without attracting much attention is worth putting a bit of thought into.

Aside from that, learning more about adjacent lands, particularly those we deal with regularly, seems the next important item- and I believe it's up next, so Peregrin can continue.

>"I'd like to remind you, my lady, that while I can instantly absorb any source of written knowledge, it will be consumed in the process."
That's quite inconvenient if we want our minions to be able to reference them... but you said it was totally alien to you to destroy knowledge, so one would think that preserving it would be relatively easy. Could you improve our ability to rapidly learn with a small amount of Titan's Will so that it would become non-destructive? While we are rather low on Titan's Will at the moment, being able to rapidly learn things more freely is likely useful enough to warrant an expenditure.

>>400758

A way to re-write or re-print what was consumed might be useful.

pulling a few souls from other places would be good. but you have to balence, evil souls and good ones, otherwise they could influence her desision making.

You have a domain with servants...
Order a LARGE GROUP of them to start making copies of all books in the libraries, starting from the most valuable ones (appoint a project manager whom you will discuss the definition of "valuable" with). Consume the copies.
PS. for restricted knowledge we would need to find trustworthy minions or come up with other solutions.

Also, make a todo list.

>>400758
The only feasible way I can see is:
1. Taking souls of enemies in a fight
2. Taking souls of subjects who earn the death penalty for a crime (rebels, renegades, or just major criminals).
3. Taking souls in secret.

Generally speaking we should avoid 3 since there is always the danger of it getting exposed.

>>400758
We don't need to try to convince him that way.
Just put on the todo list to have him teach us all he knows about tapping power places and work with him to improve the design and allowing both of you to tap those specific ones.

Foreign relations are important, so let him keep talking. There are a few things that piqued my interest, but they can wait until he's done.

First, the mechanics of the world. For example, he said that we were in the eastern part of the world. Does that mean that the world has a center? What shape is it?

Also, ghost magic. We've got powerful ghosts in our domain; what specific sort of feats are they capable of? On that subject, we should ask about his own powers and whatever other quirks come with being a Death Hero. Or, for that matter, a Moon Hero; we really only know the basics of our own abilities.

There's also his existing plans, such as other projects he's currently working on, and what he was planning to do with our magic once he obtained it; did he simply wish to learn them out of curiosity, or did he have some further reaching plan in mind?

>>400747
Good idea. Ask if there are any expendable copies of books we can consume.

And let's talk about MAJICKS now!

Suggestion 2012/04/13(Fri)03:34 No. 400798 ID: 404f8a
File 133431329785.jpg - (663.44KB , 2600x1559 , creation-map.jpg )

>>400783
>For example, he said that we were in the eastern part of the world. Does that mean that the world has a center? What shape is it?

It's flat.

I couldn't find a map of the world with only topography, but even with having The Shadow of All Things taking over the Underworld, it's pretty likely to still look mostly like this.

For frame of reference: that island in the center is the size of Russia.

Well, he seems on the up and up about being our boy right now. Reward him with a kiss to the cheek and let him continue.

>>400802
no on kissing him

let him continue. I'm interested in the majjyykz as well, especially those places of power he mentioned, but one thing at a time.

Where are we on that map? What's going on at the edges?

Also, this guy is totally being a bro.

>>400847
>Where are we on that map? What's going on at the edges?
IIRC, the world of Exalted, known as Creation, is less of a 'planet' and more of a 'plane'. The further you go from the center, the less defined the world is, until you hit the Wyld Lands, or something, which is where the Fae live and the laws of physics stop working.

>>400860
and the titans built this place. meaning once we are strong enough we would be able to enter the wyld without horrible things happening.

>>400847
I described it in the disc thread. Just search for your post number and it should be there.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/14(Sat)14:54 No. 401118 ID: b49075
File 133444044544.png - (152.69KB , 1000x500 , study2.png )

Saulanna decides to let Peregrin keep speaking, holding her questions until he's done.

He tells her that the inhabitants of the Land of the Dead - the demons descended from the Dragon's Shadow, or ghosts who stay and eventually become SHADES - come here sometimes to buy or sell, and that in support of this, one of the Shadow's own Heroes will come by once every few months make sure things are acceptable. They do tend more toward the stick than the carrot during negotiations, but he's managed to keep things civil enough.

Relations with the Land of the Living are not quite so amicable - the small kingdoms and protectorates nearby are close to open hostility. They have good reason; this SHADOWY LAND spreads over time, having more than doubled in size over the last several decades. It's unfortunate, Peregrin admits, but at the same time, the amount of ghosts here makes it very crowded as it is, at least at night. They've probably only refrained from open hostility for fear of opening themselves to more pressing troubles, there being turmoil enough already in this AGE OF STRIFE. Instead, trade with the living world is conducted mainly through the GUILD, who come by once or twice a season, and a number of independent traveling merchants.

There are also occasionally sightings of WYLD THINGS nearby, but they seem to fear the lands touched by the Shadow.

>>400747
>>400794
>>400782

>"Newspapers? Well, never mind. So you can absorb written information instantly? How fascinating! There are always some ghosts who need something to do, and in the meantime I'll see if I can find any duplicate texts in my collection. I'd love to see how far this ability goes."

>>400748

>"What year is it? Hoo, I'm not sure, actually! We're a little of touch here, but I could find out. What calendar were you thinking of? The Empire's years are somewhat out of favour since the civil war. Measure from the appearance of the Red Sun has been gaining popularity, but a lot of kingdoms run by their own standards. Dynasties and year-of-our-lord-so-and-so and such. It'll take a little time to line things up."

>"The souls we've already absorbed had little more than local notions of time, my lady. It seems that precise measurement is a matter for historians and astrologers."

>>400783
>>400747
Saulanna asks him about his plans. What else has he got going on? What did he intend her to do - supplant the Dragon's Shadow?

>"Ah... ha. I suppose you do expect big plans with that sort of thing, don't you? I feel somewhat inadequate saying that I didn't have anything like that in mind. At the same time, I'd have been rather an idiot if I had, wouldn't I? Deliberately create a being infinitely more powerful than myself, and imagine I could control it? No. For the most part, I just wanted a way to learn more magic. I've always wanted that.

>"But, on reflection, I think there was more to it. You see... this world was created by the Titans, who are worlds in themselves. They created the gods, again on a level of their own higher souls. The gods, in turn, created their Heroes, endowing mortal humans with a reflection of their own powers. But neither the gods nor the Titans ever dared create anything that was greater than themselves. Only humans do that... and now, I've done it to greater extent than anyone."

>"Speaking of which... I have something for you."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2012/04/14(Sat)14:55 No. 401121 ID: b49075
File 133444050448.png - (90.50KB , 500x600 , peregrinoffers.png )

Peregrin holds up a strange metal cage, inscribed with wet-looking red symbols. A yellowish crystal sits inside, faintly glowing with a pale white light.

>"There are crimes among the dead, just as much as among the living; some worse than others, and some worse than what the living can manage. Crystals such as this will imprison weaker spirits, and a temporary stay serves well enough as a deterrent for spectral thieves, con artists and other petty criminals; we have a few of these down in the dungeon. In here, though, we have a ghost somewhat more powerful than usual. And a troublesome convict he's been; I have to maintain this particular prison myself, to keep him restrained, and had no other way to deal with him... until now."

>"Before the Dragon's Shadow came, you see, there was a substance known as soulsteel. A horrific thing it was, as I'm sure the name tells you; created from ore mined from the mouth of the Void, and worked with human souls. In torturous forging, breaking their wills to force submission, the spirits of the restless dead were doomed to eternal torment, caught and bound in cold steel. And those who served Oblivion - who planned to slay the existence itself, and bring the End of All Things - did this to hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions of helpless ghosts, that their war machines could be built.

>"Fortunately, when the Dragon banished the servants of the Abyss into the Labyrinth and sealed the Neverborn away beyond the the Black Door, he took the land of the dead for his own. Something about his essence altered the nature of death; just as Death Heroes like me were unable to maintain our old powers, all the soulsteel that had ever been forged in the underworld became undone. And yet... some of those that had served the cause of the Void, those who were not directly touched by Oblivion but had worked to support it, they escaped. Even some of the cruelest souls you might ever find... souls like this fine spirit-craftsman, here."

>"What do you think should be done with him?"

on nom nom.

Also, wow is he a sweet talking seducer. He saw your reluctance to consume nice souls and found the most vile one to ease you into it. And his smoothness in the bow and introduction... damn that guy has got it going on

if there ever was a soul who deserved to be eaten it would be someone who worked soul steel. though before we eat him we should make sure we have the right guy, when your devouring souls of the wicked you take extreme care to make sure they are actually wicked.

would need to to maintain power over a soul with such strong negativity. ether upgrade that soulforce now, or we will need a goodly soul to balance, a shoulder devil and angel sort of deal, otherwise it could influence our actions.

OMNOMNOM

>>401121
Consume him, definitely- not only for the power that it offers, but also the knowledge and skill that such an expert craftsman certainly possesses.

If Wordblood can guarantee that he'd be able to adequately strip him of ability to influence our personality when we do so, upgrade Efficiency of Consumption again beforehand so that we can maximize our gains in Titan's Will. Otherwise, we can afford to be stunned a while or have a bit of a battle while we beat down the absorbed soul, but more Ease of Consumption would reduce that as a problem if the craftsman is powerful enough to put up a real fight or affect our personality after we deal with him.

>>401130
Objective good and evil in this world? Adorable!

But yes, improving your SOUL FORCE is the best way to keep troubled voices down where they belong.

Consume him.

If he really is that bad, then consuming him seems like the best option. The other options would be reincarnation (essentially the same thing), freeing him (he might harm someone again), keeping him locked up forever (not much point to that), or destroying him entirely (not worth considering).

But then again, we know very little about him. Why did he choose to serve the cause of destruction? What, specifically, has he done? I'd like to learn at least a little more before choosing to end a soul's life.

I'm also unsure as to whether we could consume him. If he's powerful enough to be dangerous, he might be powerful enough to resist, and may cause some damage if we try. We could use some details on his abilities and general power level.

I agree on upgrading soul force before we eat it. We will get some TW from the soul anyway, so it's no biggie.

Would it be possible to burn some Titan's Will before consuming the soul so you'd have the ability to carefully examine it first? Like being able to look in its memories, or judge its "composition?" There was also talk elsewhere that a soul could contain elements that would be damaging or undesirable to you. So a way to eject an undesirable soul would be good.

>>401121
Ahhh, Justice, I love the smell of it in the morning. Can you taste the scent Saulanna? It is palpable. And in your reach.

FOR GREAT JUSTICE WE WILL CONSUME THIS SOUL!

>>401121
Eating souls gives you TW.
Get a point of Soul Force for yourself, since we want to be able to subdue even a powerful spirit that resists containment, then let Wordblood start chewing on this one.

>>401182
>>401146
>>401130
I'm pretty sure that Ease of Consumption is what makes us better able to digest powerful souls, not Soul Force. See >>/questdis/328122:
>Giving him increased Ease of Consumption would help him absorb powerful souls with less difficulty, and reduce the "stun" that comes with the absorption; or Efficiency of Consumption would reduce the lightshow that comes with it, and provide an additional measure of Titan's Will each time a soul is absorbed.

Soul Force has a host of benefits, but it is not the best way to improve Saulanna/Wordblood's ability to consume souls.

>>401189
Only sane thing to do is max out efficiency ASAP on weak souls, then improve ease of for strong souls. Then improve everything else.
Bleedover effect only happen when a soul willingly merges with us to be a whole within us like wordblood is. It does not apply when a soul is "consumed" (aka, wordblood disassembles it before absorbing the parts we want)

>before we eat him we should make sure we have the right guy
1. How would you do that?
2. Asking would be calling Par a liar.
3. You think the word of a person who is bound to be unable to lie to us OR even attempt to deceive us in any way is not enough?

eat him. If wordblood thinks we would be at risk doing so, increase consumption ability first.

Else,incread Soul Force for yourself.

I'll abstain from this vote, but remind people that the souls Saulanna incorporates into herself probably still have a backwash effect on her mind. A strict diet of the worst bad guys might be more morally comfortable, but I have my doubts about it being healthy in the long term.

>>401196
Hence the benefit of improving our consumption.

>>401189
well then let's get both. would maximize the returns on this guy.

>>401121
All things considered we are currently rather under powered as far as exalted are concerned and think of the possible skill we might get from him. I say take it

we'll be taking him off your hands, and he may feel free to give us similar beings who clearly deserve nonexistence.

now, on to magics. uh, I mean majuygz.

>>401210
It's not quite nonexistence, though. They're becoming a part of us. In many ways, this is a great gift to him. Keep that in mind, guys.

Anyway, eat him.

Consult Wordblood on the possibility of leakage, upgrade something to prevent that if it is indeed a risk, then chomp the spirit.

...Out of curiosity, lets ask if there is something Peregrin actually wants to do with that magic, or if it is just something he wants for its own sake.

"I take it you wish to study this consumption process because you find it likely there are things to be learned from it as much as it may help me find new things to teach you?
"One caution: Such souls do not return to rebirth and their knowledge becomes my own. You intuit correctly that this is something I consider a very harsh punishment. I am reluctant to do it to any but those who require me to defend myself and those that creation is better off without. I also would know if I was deceived about the nature of the being consumed thanks to learning all that it knew."

I don't trust this smooth operator at all despite his oath of loyalty, is there any way he can make eating a soul bite us on the ass or become a way to control us?

>>401193
You say that like we'll have plenty of time to maximize our benefits and won't need power in the shortterm.

>>401121
Ask Wordblood if there are any ways to artificially boost our efficiency with spell circles and the like. Then compliment Peregrin on his excellent seduction.

Now, while I am all for devouring the soul of such a man, we need a way to 'spit out' the very bad bits. When people go this bad, they tend to have corrupted souls. Being able to remove the bad parts and destroy them so they cannot corrupt us should be top priority. We will likely be eating a lot of evil people so the ability to remove the worse parts may e a boon so we don't become corrupt ourselves.

>>401222
If we need power in the short term, we can devour some random ghosts from in the dungeons.

Two points in Efficiency of Consumption gets us 4 Titan's Will per ghost we devour, assuming strength relatively on par with those we've consumed so far. Then 5 more points boosts Wordblood's Soul Force to 3 and Efficiency again, giving us 5 points per ghost. Once we've done that, one more ghost gets Saulanna's Soul Force to 4, three after that get her Toughness, Agility, Might, and Beauty to 5.

At that point we'd be much, much stronger than we are right now- and it would take a mere six ghosts to get there. Add another six ghosts, and we could do all kinds of things- craft a handful of Power Words, gain some very useful Titanic abilities, or simply pump our and Wordblood's raw soul power up to incredibly impressive levels. Power in the short term is at our fingertips- we could have it in less than an hour, if we but reach out and take it.

That said, while I support doing so that can probably wait until after our briefing with Peregrin is over.

EATING HIM INVITES THAT DARKNESS INTO OURSELF

REPEAT

EATING HIM INVITES THAT DARKNESS INTO OURSELF

>>401254
no it doesn't. absorbing him would, eating doesn't.

>>401254
There are two ways to merge with a soul.
1. Have WB disassemble it, discard the personality, give us the skills, and merge with pure soulstuff to gain TW
2. Tether it to us whole and undamaged causing it to live on inside us the way wordblood does and cause our personalities to bleed into each other over time (unless we grow significantly more powerful).

When we say "eat him" we are clearly referring to option 1 which will in no way shape or form alter our personality.

This is a very old ghost and the information he contains could be very useful.

Double check with Wordblood about contamination and if it'll be any trouble, but otherwise OM NOM NOM that sucker.

Interrogate him in your mind first though.

Hang on. I don't think we should interrogate this guy. IF this guy made soul steel, it means he made it through basically torturing souls and the like and making it into workable material. This requires HIGH will and mental power.

We will be fighting him in our mind. While it would be two on one with us being much stronger, it's two on one against a veteran in his home terrain. If what Perry says is true, interrogating him may be a horrible idea and cause unneeded trouble.

Besides, we can sort through the scraps before throwing them away just to make sure he isn't throwing us a puppy. One life is better than the untold thousands if this guy manages to possess US.

>>401327
Yeah, I was kind of thinking that too.

Oh. Yes, this could be a strong soul, and iirc the last guy we took into our mind we had trouble grappling to interrogate.

Well, with that I think we can agree that eating the guy would be best. If he was innocent, he'd still be harmful to Perry who is our servant under our protection.

HOWEVER. We should put some thought into the eating process. He might pop in ready for a mental show down. Having Wordsblood at the ready and being mentally ready to jump on him the moment he pops in can save our ass. We can also strengthen wordsblood or ourselves so that we can take on the ghost with better skill and gusto. In this situation, giving us more power would mean he cannot possess us as easily if not make us a brick wall against his attempts.

I would just like to point out that however evil this guy is it's still fairly morally reprehensible to scrub his soul for our personal gain.

Also, I have this nagging suspicion that it wouldn't be quite a snap to do, either, if he's as wily and powerful and evil as Peregrin suggests. Best not risk accidentally releasing him right now.

I really would be a lot more comfortable if we settled down to hunt Titan shards, and anyway Saulanna should definitely try becoming more comfortable with her powers (AND her own identity) before attempting something like that. A lowly -thug- almost out-wrestled us in the mind-games and mind-strength not too long ago, remember?

>>401354
By cleaning his soul of memories and recycling him, we're doing nothing worse than killing him. His current prison is actively worse. At least by eating him he can be of benefit to the world, in an even more meaningful way then he'd ever accomplish through reincarnation.

>>401354
>I would just like to point out that however evil this guy is it's still fairly morally reprehensible to scrub his soul for our personal gain.

But... isn't that what happens ANYWAY? Even if we just sent him to reincarnate or whatever, he'd get dragged through that river and 'scrubbed clean'? Where's the evil, here? Just that we profit?

Okay sure whatever.

Tell him you're receptive to his implications, but admit you don't actually understand how this differs from a person dying in such a way that doesn't leave a ghost behind, or a ghost being destroyed or otherwise passing on.

Since people are worried about the forces at play overpowering your personality, you should also spend 2 TW to upgrade your Soul Force.

>>401121
Lick crystal, comment on taste.
Does it taste like horrible destructive nihlism? If not, eat.

>>401354
We've also come a long, long way since then. We've gotten a strong purpose, emotional attachments, and willpower. We've also got Titan's Will and Power Word: Stop which could be used to either incapacitate the ghost if it proves overpowering, stop the process of absorption, stop his struggling (maybe), etc.

Also, regardless of morals, (which caused a lot of discussion last time the issue came up,) it would be a waste just to leave him there. He's either going to reincarnate and lose everything we take from him, even worse, suffer in the box for all of eternity. By eating him, we end his suffering, we gain resources which can be used to help others, and prevent him from ever getting free. I don't see a problem with this course of action at all.

Morally wrong or not, you seem to forget that whatever we do, he's done far, far worse. We are basically doing reincarnation's job. What he did to those souls was turning them into tools of destruction and made their existence pain and suffering. We leave him there and he might escape. We eat him, he can never hurt anyone again.

Strengthen saul's soul. Moon boost mental powers if we go in and he seems tough and basically go to town on him if it goes into a mental fight. I suggest against licking the crystal though.. don't know where it's been.

It is right and proper that we integrate this soul into ourselves. This being has forged unwilling souls into tools of pain and terror, something that is immiscible with our intent to integrate souls into our glorious being so that we can punch the Dragon' Shadow in the snozz. In dealing with this soul we aid our servant, heighten our power, and gain valuable knowledge.
Have Wordblood to prepare to eat this soul, then eat it.

After we determine the fate of the soul, show Peregrin the music box and ask what he can deduce about its function.

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM

More souls.
Need more souls.
>Eat souls!

For the record, the various HEROES created by the GODS (i.e. the Exalted) are technically more powerful than Gods. Experienced ones can be more powerful than even the most powerful of all gods.

Anyway, it appears we shall be chowing down on the Ghost, but be careful. We have a fairly high compassion, let's not screw that up by improperly absorbing a psychopath.

I vote for interrogation unless there's an extreme risk, more out of curiosity than distrust for Peregrin.

Oh yes, I vote for increasing Efficiency of Consumption. I mean, it's a shame to let spiritual energy go to waste.

Double check with Wordblood to make sure we can consume without it influencing us (or if we need to increase our SOUL FORCE first). If we can, then consume away!