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Slaan
Mar 16, 2009



ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

B.B. Rodriguez posted:

Charcoal, son.

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the_steve
Nov 9, 2005

We're always hiring!

1 - What's the rush? Unpronounceable sound of fire-kun isn't going anywhere. Let's wait until our "actually willing to explain things in a manner we can understand" teacher gets around to teaching us.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

the_steve posted:

1 - What's the rush? Unpronounceable sound of fire-kun isn't going anywhere. Let's wait until our "actually willing to explain things in a manner we can understand" teacher gets around to teaching us.

I agree. Let's take our time and savor this, enkigoons.

Dr Subterfuge
Aug 31, 2005

TIME TO ROC N' ROLL
Minivote 1

Lux Anima
Apr 17, 2016


Dinosaur Gum
Minivote: 2

Minivote: 1 and attach it to our walking staff.

Lux Anima fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Dec 18, 2017

Skellybones
May 31, 2011




Fun Shoe
Pro-pain/Propane

Mexican Deathgasm
Aug 17, 2010

Ramrod XTreme
1, there's no need to hurry

vorebane
Feb 2, 2009

"I like Ur and Kavodel and Enki being nice to people for some reason."

Wrong Voter amongst wrong voters
1 Give our magic pool time to flex first.

Lux Anima
Apr 17, 2016


Dinosaur Gum
It's useless to us in its current form. Why not flex our weapon-shaping muscles a bit to make it either useful as a weapon or convenient to wear?

vvv: very well, I've changed my vote

Lux Anima fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Dec 18, 2017

There Bias Two
Jan 13, 2009
I'm not a good person

Prince of Space posted:

It's useless to us in its current form. Why not flex our weapon-shaping muscles a bit to make it either useful as a weapon or convenient to wear?

Because we can afford to wait for one lesson before attempting to do any magic

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


1

Stabitha

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Dr Subterfuge posted:

I dunno, I get the feeling our spear is a chan rather than a kun. Either way, I agree. I want to go all in on being pals with *unpronounceable sound of fire crackling and embers burning*.

yeah I thought so too at first, but erred on the side of "object spirit is the gender we aren't". Definitely good with it being Spear-chan though, because ribbons and pretty!

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo
"Can we have a tea party with me, you, *unpronounceable sound of fire crackling and embers burning*, Snake Pendant and Snake Dagger? I want to introduce *unpronounceable sound of fire crackling and embers burning* to Snake Pendant and Snake Dagger and help them make friends with each other."

100 HOGS AGREE
Oct 13, 2007
Grimey Drawer
i made some things today, mostly cause this thread made me think about them runes

https://twitter.com/heyboots/status/942880697156501504

There Bias Two
Jan 13, 2009
I'm not a good person

100 HOGS AGREE posted:

i made some things today, mostly cause this thread made me think about them runes

https://twitter.com/heyboots/status/942880697156501504

Did you carve the cuneiform gingerbread cookies in the other thread too?

100 HOGS AGREE
Oct 13, 2007
Grimey Drawer
naw that was someone else

TheCog
Jul 30, 2012

I AM ZEPA AND I CLAIM THESE LANDS BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST
Voting is closed. Update is in progress.

100 HOGS AGREE posted:

i made some things today, mostly cause this thread made me think about them runes

https://twitter.com/heyboots/status/942880697156501504

These are super cool!

100 HOGS AGREE
Oct 13, 2007
Grimey Drawer
i did a rune casting about a problem i’ve been dealing with and it was surprisingly accurate i guess i’m just into this now. evidence is dead, embrace mysticism, hail loki

SniperWoreConverse
Mar 20, 2010



Gun Saliva
once I did a astrology thing on myself where you have to draw the lines and all that poo poo and it was too creepily accurate so I destroyed it

Grognan
Jan 23, 2007

by Fluffdaddy
look the last time I had an accurate prediction it had years worth of the desk I did everything with without touching. and it said you were a wonderful person.

TheCog
Jul 30, 2012

I AM ZEPA AND I CLAIM THESE LANDS BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST


You decide not to tell the Sejin about the vision you had when you tried to offer up the pendant. Some things, after all, are best kept secret. You stay up many hours, asking the Sejin all the questions that occur to you. Eventually, as the sun is rising over the horizon, you find you can no longer keep your eyes open. The Sejin hands you an ungent to rub in your aching eyes. "One of the gifts of the Shaeira is Manzar Haqiqiun, or as the superstitious call it, Witch Sight, the ability to see magic. With training, in time, you'll be able to see auras, pierce illusion, and perhaps more. But that is far off, for now Sundar, it manifests as a mild eye ache. You'll have to use this ungent for a bit."

You drift off to sleep, and have odd dreams, which you don't remember when you awake a few hours later. It is dark. The early hours of the morning? "Good morning Sundar", the Sejin greets you cheerily. "You've had quite a nap, but it's time we got underway." so you begin, back to the old routine of traveling. Now however, instead of stories, you receive lessons in magic. In the evenings, you still practice with your staff. When you ask if the Sejin will train you in the spear, he replies that he will, in time. "First you must master the staff. The lessons it teaches will apply to any weapon you choose to use Sundar."

"The single most important thing you can remember in magic is this: magic is unforgiving, it will kill you without a moments hesitation, and leave behind nothing but bones. The second thing you must remember is that magic is a privilege, you are honor bound to use it to preserve balance in this world." the first week of magic lessons are all about learning to get in touch with your inner pool of magic, which the Sejin calls mana. "There are many types of mana, " he explains, "each best suited for a specific purpose. Depending on the school of thought, you might see them called elements, categories, Alifa, or any other number of names. There are enough types that I'm not even certain I've seen them all. The most basic of types, the kind that you will produce naturally is called Pure Mana. Pure Mana is the accumulation of spiritual energy in a mortal. Every mortal has some amount of mana, although they will never know, not without having their circuits activated." a lengthy explanation of the history of magic follows. The true origin of magic is unknown, but at its core, all magic users are mortals who've had their magic circuits activated. Magical circuits are not a physical part of a being, you learn, but a metaphysical component. Circuits can only be activated by someone with active magical circuits, so scholars have concluded that the first magic users must have been activated by spirits of some kind. Spirits, the Sejin explains, are beings who can only exist as long as their magical circuits remain powered, and thus they feed on mana. It is what allows a binder to gain control of a spirit.

"But, the most important thing you must remember is this. Magic demands a price. If you cannot pay the price in mana, the universe will try to claim it from your vital energy. When you cast a spell, you will approach a point of no return. You will have a good idea of how much the spell will cost at that point. Once you cross it, the sorcery will take its price. If you are too hasty, or not careful enough, you will pass that point without a chance to stop. Sometimes, there is no choice, in the heat of combat, there may not be time to estimate costs and halt before the point of no return, but be very weary, magic is as much your enemy as your ally. You may be tempted to consider your vital energy as additional mana... it is not, the amount of mana your vital energy is pitiful compared to the exhaustion it will inflict on you, assuming it doesn't kill you outright."

It takes almost two weeks of exercises focusing on learning what magic is, and how to get a good measure of your mana, before lessons proceed. A lot of the exercises focus on calming your breathing, and steadying yourself as you get a 'feel'. Its unlike anything you've done before. The Sejin finally encourages to try a small transformation on your spear "Its important," he says with a comforting smile "that you get a feeling for what expending mana feels like. This is the safest way". You put your hand on your spearhead, and issue a mental command. "Transform into a Knife". You feel oddly lightheaded, and almost instantly you feel that your magic pool has decreased. About a fifth of it is gone. You didn't even catch the point of no return. But the spearhead shimmers beneath your touch and seems to melt into a new shape.... a knife.



"It will take practice" the Sejin explains, "Your mana will replenish itself over time, but at first that will be your biggest limitation. We have ways around that, while we're practicing, but remember, when you commit to casting a spell, it can take days or weeks for you to regain your full magical potential." Indeed, it takes almost five days for your pool to feel as full as it was before you tried the transformation.



A quick recount of where you are as a person:
  • You are 12 years old!
  • You know some words in the Sejin's tongue, but have not devoted the time necessarily to fully learn it yet.
  • You know how to swim, poorly from before the Sejin adopted you
  • You know some of the basics of keeping a house from before the Sejin adopted you
  • You have decent wilderness survival skills
  • You know how to set up a camp
  • You know some of the basics of fighting with a staff.
  • Your magical circuits have been activated
  • You have a good sense of your magic pool
  • You know many old stories about the Sejin's birthplace
  • You know how to haggle and get good deals.
The passage of time is inevitable. We're going to fast forward time for the next year. We'll stop if we hit something notable before then. During this time, you'll be traveling with the Sejin. This means mostly focusing on your studies. The Sejin is not a harsh teacher however, if you wish to reduce the amount of time you spend training with the Sejin, he's not going to stop you.

With regards to your studies:


A.) I focus diligently, and don't stray. I can expect this to result in vast improvements to my knowledge of magic, and fighting with a staff, and whatever else the Sejin decides is a good use of my time.

B.) I focus... as much as I can, I'm a kid, and my attention wavers, I often spend time doing things other than training. This will give me more time to follow my interests but hurt my growth as a magician.

C.) I am not a very good student. I often sidetrack the Sejin's lessons and much prefer to do other things.


Vote for THREE of the following, in order of priority for you, if A wins, you'll only do the first, if B wins, you'll only do the first two, if C wins you'll do all three. We will try to divine goon will from this vote, so you'll probably split your time among some of the things.

D.) I spend extra time doing magic things on my own. This is a form of unguided practice, its less effective than directly being tutored by the Sejin, but I may learn things that the Sejin hasn't taught me yet?

E.) I spend my free time sparing with the Sejin and practicing fighting drills. This will increase my skill with the staff and maybe get the Sejin to train me on the spear sooner?

F.) I wanted to hear more stories from the Sejin. This was an activity I found pleasing and that the Sejin enjoyed, and it increased my knowledge of the world.

G.) I wanted to learn the Sejin's language better. This represents a significant investment of time, but I can expect to be able to speak it fluently and read and write it within a year.

H.) I wanted to learn Ignian. This is a much harder language than the Sejin's native tongue, but I can expect to at least have the basics down in a year?

I.) I probed the Sejin for knowledge on forbidden things, topic he was truly loathe to talk about, things like blood magic, and when I could, I tried to learn more about these things by practicing them myself.

J.) I focused on learning about the monsters in the Sejin's bestiary. I read it each night, and tried to remember as much as i could.

K.) I focused on physical training. This is not direct martial combat, but rather ways to make myself stronger.

L.) I wanted to learn some form of ranged combat. I convinced the Sejin to teach me how to fight from a distance during our down-time.

M.) I wanted to learn to sing. I convinced the Sejin to spend time teaching me the fundamentals of music.

N.) I wanted to get very skilled at numbers, so that I could make sure no one ever ripped me off. I practiced math until i was fantastic at it.

O.) I wanted to spend my time playing. This had no direct benefit other than making me a happier child? The Sejin could hardly object.

P.) I have some other idea. Write in.


Finally, in a year there are many other things one might attempt that don't require a great investment of time. Write these in, and we'll vote on them in a subsequent mini-vote

Dr Subterfuge
Aug 31, 2005

TIME TO ROC N' ROLL
AHEF

Questions for the Sejin:
Is there magic that relies on singing or math?
What types of magical specialties are there other than Binding? What are you best at?
How did you learn more about your traveler's knife?
Can dreams be dangerous?
Can dreams be controlled?
Would learning your language first make it any easier to learn Ignian? Or is Ignian just too weird to learn compared to a human language for there to be any benefit.

mcclay
Jul 8, 2013

Oh dear oh gosh oh darn
Soiled Meat
BEGN

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
CEHI

Less straight magic, more focus on fighting, talking to our spear of destruction and blood magic.

:unsmigghh:

Bee Bonk
Feb 19, 2011

BMHF

Especially if we learn singing, learn some songs from the Sejin and from Nomia.

Keep a comprehensive dream journal, sparing no detail no matter how esoteric. Talk to the Sejin about them and try to pick up some fundamentals of dream interpretation and pointers on what kind of mystical bullcrap or bullcrapitunities we might encounter while asleep.

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

AHHH

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


A NKG

AbysmalPeptoBismol
Feb 5, 2016

Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!

A DEK

SniperWoreConverse
Mar 20, 2010



Gun Saliva
BOEG

I think it would be cool to learn how to make stuff out of monsters, or even just regular materials. Take care of our spear and our other stuff.

Boonoo
Nov 4, 2009

ASHRAKAN!
Take your Thralls and dive back into the depths! Give us the meat and GO!
Grimey Drawer
BDFJ

Slaan
Mar 16, 2009



ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH
B, GHE

Let's learn ALL the languages, y'all. We can become a super cool elemental summoner with tons of friends and dudes and guys and gals and friends!

Question Time
Sep 12, 2010



A GFN

nightchild12
Jan 8, 2005
hi i'm sexy

B GHF

Languages and stories, let's be the fairy tale hero who is clever and talks to rocks and the wind and stuff to get out of tricky situations.

Lux Anima
Apr 17, 2016


Dinosaur Gum
BEDJ

We chose the path of the Warrior, didn't we?

the_steve
Nov 9, 2005

We're always hiring!

1. A - Full Wizard studies. We have a cryptic vision to prepare for.
2. GHM

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


A EFG

100 HOGS AGREE
Oct 13, 2007
Grimey Drawer
B EFJ

the_steve
Nov 9, 2005

We're always hiring!


Is this the Sejin?

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

BEHN

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Brain Candy
May 18, 2006

A MFN

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