Kingmaker (General RP-Interactive IC)

[lostsole31]

So, I am thinking we need one of these after all. Discord is a great burn for real-time chat, but it hard to review and doesn't fit when there are multiple conversations going. I still like it for quick conversations to have discussions that are "contemporary" to the IC, whereas this thread is good for convos that can have no bearing on the IC action, but can meander while the IC is updating.

So, without further ado ...
At some point, likely before heading out ...

Linzi will approach Beltin. "So, yesterday was amazing! You are really a great warrior, and I am proud to have joined with you. Sajan is pretty good, too, I was just worried that he might have lost his arm, but then Harrim - grump that he is - pulled through with some healing magic.

"So, I need to make sure that - like you said, Master - I don't get things confused or leave things up to be falsified by someone who wants to 'create an answer.' I have some questions for you, if that's alright.

"Heritage. I feel like you touched on it at the party in Restov, but perhaps I did have a little bit too much wine. I know you are an aasimar, which is .... a-ma-zing! But, do you know the heritage of aasimar? Do you know the ancestor that may have been touched by the heavens, or is this a truly recessive trait that showed for you?

"Next. That lightning blast you fired off. It was pretty powerful. It wasn't a spell. It wasn't like even like a spell, since it seemed pretty effortless. And unlike a kineticist, you didn't seem to pull the power from around you. Rather, it seems to have opened up almost from within you, like a planar portal you temporarily turned on, like opening an shutting a sluice that you directed along a line. That isn't a kineticist, which are pretty rare, but rarer still .... a nexus. And since you did it in a line and not in a burst, I am thinking that you channel your power from the Upper Planes? That was backed up when Lini told me that the man didn't die because of the burns that electricity causes, but simply because he was so overcome that his heart simply gave out. A little less power, and he could've lived without a scar. It's okay, he was an evil man.

"But that was tremendous power, still. I mean, that is some next-level blastiness right there, Master! So .... how long have you been a nexus to the heavens?"

[digiman619]

Beltin nods. "Thanks. I've practiced and sparred, but this was my first life and death battle. Harrim may be a bit of a wet blanket, but his skills have so far proven invaluable.

As for 'divine' heritage, it's on my mother's side, but I don't know much about her family. She was a priestess of Erastil, and I get the feeling she followed him because she wanted to get away from people. If she had any kin, we've never met. I do know that I'm of the angel-blooded variety, but only because I can change my form for a bit rather than more common making of daylight." A slight blush hits his cheeks as a memory flashed by, but he quickly recovered.

He put his hand to his chin as Linzi describes the power he used earlier. "So, as to 'how long', I have a sneaking suspicion that it's less than three days, as I never manifested power like this before. Sounds like that ritual I took part in via dream unlocked something within me. Good to know that that thunder attack thing is usually non-fatal, but I'm still unhappy about it killing him. It was a waste, and if nothing else, we lost a possible informant into the bandit's activity."

He took a breath and looked seriously at Linzi "So if I have this power, what else should I bee looking out for? What other tools do I have in my arsenal here?"

[lostsole31]

Linzi thinks for a minute. "A nexus - that's the 'industry term,' mind you - has two primary forms of supernal power. The first is a convergence - a sort of alignment with a fundamental plane of existence. That convergence gets infused into the subject, offering them some measure of resistance to the elemental powers that course through their bodies. At some point, they can project and detonate those planar energies outwards. Usually, in most cases that 'planar detonation' is a type of focused force - not force energy, but physical - that is like a super-powered arrow or quarrel. Depending on the the nexus' origin of convergence, the nexus can tweak the planar detonation to be more indicative of that plane's energies.

"You, for example, let loose with lightning. But the lightning was strange. It was powerful, but not intrinsically deadly except for the fact that you had so much power in it. I think, if dumbed down some, it is meant to be a merciful strike that doesn't kill .... except undead.

"The second supernal power of a nexus is akashic magic. Have you heard of akasha?"

[digiman619]

You could almost hear Beltin blink; in a more comedic telling of this story, there may have even been a sound effect for it. Still, he shook his head. "Um, no. I have zero idea what the heck Akasha is. I take it that isn't some sort of magic?"

[lostsole31]

"Oh, no, it is! It is!" she squeals with excitement. It seems that despite having zero skill in such matters herself, she ne'ertheless was fascinated by the concept (and some of the accompanying stories of practitioners) while studying at the Grand Academy of the Arts in Pitax, and had studied a lot regarding this strange and ancient magic.

"So, akasha is believed to be the 'magic of creation.' It is equal parts arcane, divine, and psionic. It is an amplifier for those sources of power, but a source of power in its own right. Smarter people - magic philosophers and sages - have debated over the exact nature of akasha, and many claim it is the result of those power sources mixing and meshing with the life energy of mortal beings. Or, perhaps it is the undiluted source from which those powers sprang. The source is academic, honestly, but the effects aren't.

"Akashic practioners, aka 'akashics' - that is, users of aksasha as its own magic - don't intone 'spells' or manifest 'powers.' Rather, the way they bring forth this energy in the world to make use of it is in the creation of veils, created when the akashic channels akashic energy through natural conduits in the body, known as chakra. This energy is then molded by the willpower of the creature from which it sprang into a semi-tangible construct capable of converting the wielder’s life energy, known as essence, into a near infinite variety of effects.

"The more practiced and powerful an akashic, then the greater their well of this essence; their ability to infuse essence into veils (to amplify the power of that veil); and finally, their ability to bind the power of these veils to those chakras. It is the binding of veils, that is the most potent ability shared by all akashics.

"Are you with me so far?"

[digiman619]

Beltin looked moderately confused "So it's like they're making magic items made energy?"

[lostsole31]

Linzi is surprised at Beltin's insight. "Yeah! Akasha makes these veils - and they generally have a form that is shapeable to the party, or similar to weapons - but those forms are hard to see unless the akashic infuses the veil with the essence I was talking about. Now, most akashics study years - just like any other magical practitioner - to be able to even get the rudiments of their abilities. Others, for a variety of uknown reasons, can tap into them naturally, in many ways like a sorcerer, somewhat like an oracle, or even a wilder* .... they discover this ability. Just like those 'accidental casters' one's force of personality tends to be at the center of their ability to use akashic magic for some of them. For this reason, the akashic known as a nexus usually channels their magic through that same mental facet, rather than through knowledge or understanding, at least at the beginnings of their akashic career."

[digiman619]

Beltin struggled to get his head wrapped around everything she said. "Okay, so I have an energy in me that I, in theory, will be able to shape into items that I wear and doing so will give me magical effects. I think I get that part. But what's this binding thing you were talking about? And how will I know how to shape them?"

[lostsole31]

"First things first, since binding is advanced," says Linzi. "I could think of some of the stories I know, and how they were probably veils and not magical items, and maybe even try to coach you?"

[digiman619]

Beltin nodded. "Okay, we'll worry about that part later then." He then smiled "And I'd love to hear your stories. Heavens know it beats listening to Harrim droning on about the joys of inevitability."

[lostsole31]

At some point, Linzi will re-open dialogue. "I didn't really want to pry in front of the others, but I was curious about your ability to link us mentally? I mean, I felt .... something .... when you did it, but I didn't get anything from it, that I know of. My guess is some kind of psychic mindlink or psionic collective? How am I doing?"

[digiman619]

Beltin chuckled. "I did say it as much, but yeah, it's psionic in nature. It's actually one of the reasons I was reticent to use it at first, as a strong enough link can actually be used to share thought, and I didn't want to intrude." He smirked. "Besides, with it active, Harrim can drone on about endings from like 50 yards away, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to that."

[lostsole31]

Linzi thinks about it. "So, a collective, then? I mean, it seems to be less effort than I'd expect to see from someone manifesting a power - as much as concentration as casting a spell. So, can people talk through it? I hear most collectives allow telepathy."

[digiman619]

"Only if the person creating the link is strong enough." Beltin said as if to correct her. "It doesn't matter how strong the other members of the collective are; the telepathic aspect only activates if the creator of the link has the capacity."

[lostsole31]

Linzi nods her head, relaxes her body some, and closes her eyes.
"The question then, is 'are you strong enough?" her telepathic "voice" comes through distant and watery, as a person who commits, and yet is unsure of the result.She opens an eye at you to see if you acknowledge anything.

[digiman619]

Beltin wriggled his eyebrows. "So it would seem" he teped back. Aloud, he continued. "As I understand it, the others heard that seeing as they're in range. And the link being enough to send thoughts is an intermediate technique, so it's not too surprising that it's working. Still, could come in handy later."

[lostsole31]

Linzi's eyes nearly pop out of her skull when Beltin tepes back to her!

"So, we could have privileged communications?! Wow!"

She tries to mentally contact Sajan and Harrim, but there doesn't appear to be any answer. Later, it will be discovered that Harrim had taken a nap, and Sajan had shut off mental contact voluntarily before meditating.

"I have soo many questions for you. First, why do you have this training? I am sure the 'how' is a bit beyond me, and as I don't intend to be any kind of psion myself, I am more interested in armchair-laygirl knowledge. What other training dovetailed with this?"

[digiman619]

"Well, it the way I was trained. As you know, most of my training was in the Golden Lion discipline, but I've got a bit of Sleeping Goddess techniques as well. Basically, the philosophy I was taught is that the Golden Lion was about commanding others, but the Sleeping Goddess was about commanding yourself. That focus is what blossomed into my psionic abilities. That and as far as psionic abilities go, mine is relatively minor. I mean, I can recharge psicrown, but I can't use it natively; I had to take separate training to use magical and psionic items without the regular credentials."

[lostsole31]

"So, this training, what was it working towards?" she asks.

[digiman619]

"You don't get it" Beltin said. "The Sleeping Goddess was the foundation for the Golden Lion. How can you command others when you can't command yourself? It was the basis of the discipline the training required. As for a goal..." He gets slightly embarrassed as he continues. "Well, you know that I've always admired the Sword lords, and well, this whole endeavor is basically an attempt to curry their favor, I guess. And that's what I've been working for."

[lostsole31]

She blinks. She blinks again. "So, what you are telling me is that ..... you learned some basics, but for some reason you couldn't complete the course of instruction .... or even dealt with any ranking?"
Just so we're clear, she's not wrong. You had introductory coursework, but your trait is more about hero worship than any sustained, long-term training.

[lostsole31]

Upon discovering Beltin in his pestilence cloak (remember that his features are obscured), Sajan draws his temple sword - obviously seeing some intruder in his room.

"I will give you one chance to surrounder, blight druid!"

[digiman619]

"In my defense, this took place piecemeal over several years. Master Serapio was primarily teaching be to be a blacksmith and it took ages for him to even start to show me the basics. By the time we got started training in full, he was already in the process of introducing me to Countess Aldori. I think I did a reasonable job under the circumstances."

Beltin immediately dropped the veil. "It's me! It's me!"

[lostsole31]

Sajan stares at Beltin, looking like he just might attack, thinking over things. "What is that? What ... are you, Beltin Oldiz?"

He does not entirely relax, and the sword is still out. "And make me believe you are not a fey trickster sent to sow chaos."

[digiman619]

Beltin held up his hands in a form of surrender. "I assure you there is nothing fey about me. Remember how I summoned those gauntlets that kept the cold from hurting me? It's the same sort of magic. I think it's an illusion rather than actually summoning bugs, but that doesn't really do much to convince you I'm not some trickster." He pauses and decides to take a seat. "As for proving I'm me, it's not as though I have a huge well of history to draw from, but here's something that I'm relatively certain that no trickster would know unless they've been following us since we met: each of us gets a 16% stake of all goods we find, with the remaining 20% going towards setting up a base of operations."

[lostsole31]

Sajan, who does not strike you as a numbers person, furrows his brow and peers more intently. "Really? I thought I was getting 18.75% myself .... for exceptional service in the field."
"So, what is Sleeping Goddess? I have heard of Golden Lion, of course, but not the other one."

[digiman619]

Beltin shrugged. "It's a bit on the nose to say that it's 'the psionic discipline' as there's more to it that that, but let's call a spade a spade; it's the psionic discipline. It uses a lot of the foundations of psionics to inspire its martial arts; you can invest power into the maneuvers, like a manifester does his powers, and you can gain and expend a psionic focus as well. However, outside of that, it's only a shallow interpretation of the art form. It's not advanced enough to get a deeper understanding of the art, so a lot of the more advanced techniques are lost on me."

Beltin chuckled. "I mean, if you want to change how you and Lini manage your split, that's up to you two." He pauses for a second before asking. "I admit, it's really none of my business, so if you don't want to answer, I'll consider the question dropped, but what's the deal with you two?"

[lostsole31]

Linzi will happily and busily write notes as Beltin speaks. "So, it is a psionic-martial discipline. So, what are some things you know from it?"
"Symbiotic," says Sajan, voicing a word you didn't even know a musclehead like him would know. He doesn't seem to add to that.

[digiman619]

"Well, there's two major things." He says, his hand gesturing as he talked. "First is a technique called the Harmony-Shattering Strike. It causes a dissonance between body and soul for a short period and causes them to take more damage for that time. The other is a mental state of psionic balance. With it, I can walk over the surface of the water and even climb walls, though it's really tricky to do while in armor."

Beltin nodded. "Then that's all I need to know."