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Spirit Circles
6164e0
>>97357
While defensible, these mountains are too sparse in terms of resources available for any truly grand empire to be built on them, not without supplies from elsewhere.
...Still, the Drazken clan does serve me now, and it would pay to reinforce the place, both to secure a source of warriors from the clan, and to keep the ruby mines safely under my control through the Premen.
>>97601
>>97642
It seems necessary to clarify something: There are no more yetis alive from this village, not a one. Every single one was slain, the Premen are only now gathering up the bodies, to skin them, make their flesh hides useful to the Premen, and to butcher them, to feast on their fallen foes. I have consumed every last soul from this battlefield, and short of turning on the fleshlings serving me, I could not extract any further sustenance at the moment.
The spirit within me, as near as I can perceive, is actually not inhabiting me: Only a vast well of potent attention emanating from the spirit seems to actually be within me. Though truly, it is still a fantastic well of power, likely the equal of tens of thousands of souls. If all of that is just it's attention on me.... truly, the spirit itself defies my comprehension. But neither Mingsk nor Arkus has made any comment on the spirit's attention within me, it is possible they cannot perceive it. Though truly, I wonder if they could even interact with it without it's will, it is somehow completely ignoring the magicks within my core that should be enslaving and consuming it, potent swirls of Soul and Blood magic that give me life. I wonder if those who dabble in magic with me could pose any threat to this presence at all... In any event, I still cannot make it respond to me, it has remained unresponsive to my attempts to communicate. I wonder what would motivate it to commune with me?
The Soul Nexus within me is one of the ways Soul Graves can evolve. Essentially, a Soul Nexus is a place where souls of similar natures will gather. What makes it so potent is that as each soul is added, every single other soul, in whatever form it can be used, grows stronger from the addition, including the new soul. As the amount of souls in the Soul Nexus grows, it can cause the applications of souls within it to grow stronger, to evolve. Further, if no ability in the Soul Nexus is active at a given time, it can be used as a secondary source of spells, allowing for more complex casting, should Mordre become capable, be it in combat magic or arcane.
For the Soul Nexus in Mordre's left hand, only one ability can be active at a time.
Current abilities:
-Accelerator: Any object thrown or otherwise moved by the hand while Accelerator is active will have it's speed radically jump the moment it loses contact with the hand, propelling it along the direction it was pushed/thrown.
-Rending Specter: A ghostly beast's skull, as large as Mordre's siege fist, is bound to the Soul Nexus. It can lash out, phasing through armor to consume flesh. Maximum range: Three feet.
It takes one second to activate an ability currently, or three seconds to switch abilities. The switch is highly noticeable, as errant magic sparks about the Soul Nexus whilst using the power of a specific soul slaved to the nexus.
Currently, neither ability is active.
Hm... founding our empire amongst the ruins of Mosmordre? Truly, there is likely much to salvage and reclaim about the lands, but I need soldiers, minions to restore it, to populate it. Once I have enough followers I could certainly move to reclaim them, but as is, the Premen are my only followers besides Arkus, and they are unlikely to wish to leave the ruby mines behind after just reclaiming them.
Still, there was that Small Tomb that stopped me from entering the Duke's Palace in the ruins I was found in, and everything above the first flower in the mage's tower. There was even the soul of a mage still lurking above in that tower, as I recall.
Hm... I cannot climb the stairs in the tower, so I could not explore it myself. Even if I give Arkus the ruby staff to carry as an amplifier, he can only do so much as of yet. Perhaps Lorgk or some other warriors could ensure that the mage's soul in the tower's upper floors does not deprive me of the only golemcrafter under my control. Further, the Small Tomb guarding the duke's palace in the ruins carries powerful enchantments, I may wish to bring those knowledgeable in magic amongst my followers with me. All said, the journey back will likely take two days if I go with only Arkus, but would take four days if I brought any others with me, as the weak fleshling must sleep.
As I contemplate the many things I have seen in these mountains, a day slowly passes by.
[DAY 25]
Arkus spends much of the day experimenting with the ruby staff, periodically succeeding in making small blasts of fire emanate from it's scarlet depths with increasing frequency and power as the day passes by. Lorgk and Mingsk continue to labor alongside their warriors, and before the day is out, all of the yetis have been cleanly butchered, the organs and meat stored safely, the tendons and bones being harvested alongside the furry hides of the yetis: It seems Lorgk plans to craft new arms for his warriors, forged out of their conquest of the yetis.
[DAY 26]
As the day dawns, it brings with it the rest of the Drazken clan. Lorgk and those that came with him reunite with those they separated from, sharing joy at the reclaiming of their clan's old mines. But shortly they resume their toil, the newcomers bringing great loads of cloth and goods, prepared to restore their home. And now that the clan is here, I feel it is an ideal time to return to the ruins, and see what can be gleaned from them with a second evaluation.
Besides Arkus, who should I bring back to the ruins with me of all the Premen with me? The more I bring with me, the slower the Drazken Clan becomes securely stationed at their old mines.
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