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Every kid in The City loves tales of daring. Rogues who break into banks, or noble houses and make off with riches. Some talk in hushed tones about darker heists; tales of ghosts and cults and sorcerers, and cruel magic artefacts that whisper great temptations. They all lack ambition. No, not me. I have it all planned out, you see. The greatest heist in history. Not trinkets or cash. I will steal the Empire. It will take my whole life. I will have to master many skills. First and foremost I have to become: A. A master thief B. A powerful sorcerer C. A captain in the Legion D. An acolyte of the Old Gods E. A spy F. A peerless orator
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Mar 16, 2023 21:36
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F!
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Mar 17, 2023 00:19
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B
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Mar 17, 2023 06:36
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Before we became the shambling corpse that is the Empire, The City was the most admired of the Jewel Republics. Some tattered scraps of this proud heritage remain today. We were a centre of culture, arts, education, and philosophy. We were a people in love with the sound of our voice, and we still are. There is the Senate, there are Fora, there are City Councils, District Councils, Trade Councils, Guild Councils, more damned councils than I can count. In The City, listening to a debate is as common a form of entertainment as seeing a play. There exists a whole class of learned men. They speak beautifully and stir the heart, but are fools. They’re so in love with their words, their reason, their philosophy they don’t even see their irrelevance. They speak and argue, and nothing happens. They debate morals and conclude it is good and right to wage war and subjugate others. They speak of spreading the light of civilization even as we choke on the fumes of industry. The Senate meets, and after long hours, advises the Emperor to do what he already does. We’ve been like this for a century. Nothing seems to matter. Everything keeps getting worse. I hate them. I hate The City. I hate the Empire. I hate the bastard Emperor. And yet they draw crowds. Crowds of nobles, of pompous fops, of students, but also crowds of the dispossessed. Weary workers, single mothers. There is undeniable power in speech, if someone was brave enough to use it. I have a lot to learn. Every day, I go to a different Forum to observe and study. Some days, I memorize arguments and dissect them in my mind for hours as I work in the inn. Some days, I tune out all sound and observe the language of gestures and motion. Some days, I close my eyes and listen only to tone, pitch, and tempo, and feel my body’s reactions. One day, I will speak, but to do so, I must first advance in society. There is only one path open to all. Sorcery is one of the core pillars of Imperial power. Without sorcerers, our armies would be stretched too thin. Without them, the people would not be fed. Without them, the Empire would not be Eternal. They are the elite of society, but it is a dangerous occupation, with many falling to foreign assassins, internal intrigue or simply to the corrosive nature of magic itself. Many sorcerers are needed, and only a very few citizens are born with the aptitude. Two hundred years of attempts at eugenics have yet to produce a meaningful result. Thus, the Empire cannot afford to recruit only from the upper class. Thus, all citizens have a right to test themselves. Sorcerer’s Square is a massive marble plaza with a dozen testing stations arranged in a circle. Each is the same, and each has a long line of hopefuls. The officials give each of them five minutes to attempt magic. When it’s my turn, I am faced with several options, each testing a different aptitude. Before me are a basin of water, a pile of loose dirt, a lit and an unlit candle, rotating fan, a small plant, and a dead rat. For what feels like an age, I feel nothing. I try to exert my will calmly. I try to exert it in a rage. I try to think of reality as malleable. I cannot fail. Not this soon. And then… my mind is flooded with thoughts. All of who I am. All of who I know and what I know. And all of my plans. I cannot stop it flashing before me at dizzying speed. I stumble and fall to the ground. My mind feels like it is being cut from my skull and dissected. And then it stops, and through tears I see I did it. A. I created waves in the water basin B. I drew a symbol in the dirt C. I moved the flame from one candle to the other D. I spun the wind fan E. I made the plant grow larger F. I made the plant wilt and die G. I made the rat corpse stand upright
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Mar 17, 2023 20:58
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F. That plant is getting murked.
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Mar 17, 2023 21:56
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E Oratory and life magic, like an old timey faith healer!
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Mar 17, 2023 22:12
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More than anything that would come, this was the defining moment of my life. I had blacked out, of course. I was told this is not unusual; without training, and with everything on the line, I had channelled energy in an uncontrolled surge. The test plant had grown to double its size, then crumbled to dust in seconds. Thus, I had demonstrated a particular aptitude for both life and death. The hand I reached out with now bore a black scar across the palm, a permanent reminder of the importance of control and a subtle touch. I didn’t care; I was overwhelmed with joy and youthful pride. Only one thing troubled me. A nagging thought that wouldn’t leave my mind for hours. “The bargain is struck.” My family’s fortunes would change as well. From now on, they would receive a stipend from the government. They could renovate the inn and hire staff. After graduation from the Academy, the inn’s association with my name would become a big draw for the wealthy, the bohemian, and the aspiring. This was the start of the good years. Before I set off for the Silent Citadel, I would need appropriate attire and accoutrements. I was no longer a child of simple innkeepers, but a Sorcerer in training. I couldn't wait to look the part. What did I look like after a whole day of shopping? A.  B.  C.  D.  E.  F.  G.  H.  I 
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Mar 19, 2023 23:14
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C
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Mar 20, 2023 15:11
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H Eye for a good hat is essential.
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Mar 21, 2023 13:27
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 I couldn’t help preening in the mirror. I was young, and suddenly my plans felt less important. In the space of a few hours I had advanced from a modest life of hard work to a life of elite luxury. It was dizzying. This is how the Empire bought loyalty from those with the power to oppose it. It was a statistical inevitability that most sorcerers came from modest backgrounds. Few can hold on to the notion of injustice when they become its beneficiaries overnight. I came within a hair’s breadth of losing my purpose. Only a vague sense of obligation kept me on my path. I would like to say it was an iron will, but in reality it was more akin to a childish stubbornness. I spent years working out the plan. To abandon it now would be a waste. Along with the clothing, I procured an elegant rapier, a classic symbol of my new office. After all, sorcerers were a popular target for assassins, and I would have to defend myself without being overly reliant on magic. I didn’t know how to use it yet, but I was assured it would be part of my schooling. What can I say about my family? They reacted as any parents would: with a mixture of disbelief, pride, love, and a sorrow we would be apart. We all shed tears, even though we we wouldn't be separated completely. I was told that I’d be able to visit The City for a week every three months. The schooling would be demanding, but the Empire wanted its sorcerers to be firmly integrated into the fabric of society. It… It was difficult to say goodbye. I’d rather not speak of it. They deserve privacy, even from my chronicler. This is not their story, and my sins are not theirs. Suffice it to say my childhood was as good as could be expected for one of my class. The Office of Sorcery maintained several schools throughout the Empire. Each had its own name, but for most of us, it was simply The Academy. Still, it’s worth mentioning the particulars. Predictably, the one closest to the capital was the oldest. The Silent Citadel was an incredible place. Of course I had heard of it – it featured prominently in so many tales, and, if legend is to be believed, it was the place where the Emperor first wrested the secret of sorcery from the titans. It was located at the centre of an artificial desert with a radius of three miles. All life had been removed, for life itself contains in it the spark of magic. It is random, unpredictable, natural. As it waxes and wanes, it creates miniscule ripples in the reality we experience. To create the perfect place of study and research, a void of life was created. A controlled environment, free from distraction. The journey would take a few days by carriage. As fate would have it, I would not be travelling alone. I was to share a carriage with another new student. That’s when I first met Amelia de Vair.  I did not know it yet, but it would not be long before she would become: A. My closest friend B. My rival C. My bitter enemy D. My lover E. Just one of many corpses on my path to glory You may vote for more than one option.
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Mar 24, 2023 02:32
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D. A tempestuous relationship, but would we have it any other way?
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Mar 24, 2023 02:38
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D. Some spice in our life, as it were.
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Mar 24, 2023 02:46
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-“Nice hat.” -“Nice… crest.” -“Nice crest? Pfft. Does no one study heraldry these days? What has the world gone to!” I stared blankly. -"I’m joking. My name is Amelia. Nice to meet you. Let’s not stand on boring protocol. We’re both sorcerers! We are equals, no matter who we were before.” -“I’m Misha. Thank you for the warm welcome.” I felt so awkward. No one has ever talked to me this way before. No one rich. I had done my best to learn oratory skills, but that’s different. Speaking to, and stirring the crowd is different. This was so close, so personal. And, somehow, that made it feel all the more important. The silence stretched on for painful seconds. I had to say something. -“So, what is the story behind…” I said, gesturing vaguely at her chest. -“It’s the Dragonslayer crest. Supposed to be a big deal. The founder of my House stood shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor when he waged his war against the dragons. That’s the official story, at least. I think he was more like a second cousin twice removed of someone who once stood in the same room. Really, in his early days the Emperor was giving out noble titles like candy.” There was a lesson in that. A lesson that would serve me well. -“If you read between the lines, the original guy - praise be his name and all that - went off campaigning and got his head unceremoniously stuck on a pike for his trouble. But that doesn’t make an inspiring story, so the chroniclers had to get creative.” -“Fascinating. Myths are quite malleable things, don’t you think?” -“Everything is malleable, and stories most of all. You know, it’s funny. I was always the black sheep of the family. Not honourable. Not dignified. Ran around the estate instead of learning courtly manners. Until I accidentally burned down a stable. You’d think that would be bad, right? But because I didn’t use any matches, suddenly I’m the golden child. Suddenly, everyone had always thought I was the great hope of the House.” -“Hope for what?” -“Restoration to former glory, of course. It’s quite pathetic, actually. We live in the past. Cling to memories of great deeds – great deeds that I’m reasonably sure didn’t happen the way they’re described – instead of looking to tomorrow. The age of chivalry is past. We live in the age of industry. Instead of getting angry that merchants and factory owners now hold more wealth than the nobility, we need to evolve.” -“Evolve how?” -“I don’t know yet. Maybe becoming a sorcerer will help me figure it out. What about you? What did you do before?” -“I served beer, wiped the tables and mopped floors.” I said, a little embarrassed. -“Ah! A life of adventure!” I had never met someone so… vibrant. So full of life. In many ways, she was my opposite. Or, as it would later turn out, my complement. The journey was long and Amelia seemed to have a considerable head start on relevant knowledge. I resolved to use the time productively, and asked her to: A. Teach me the basics of swordsmanship B. Share her personal theories about magic C. Tell me more about history D. Tell me more about the upper classes of the Empire
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Mar 26, 2023 17:17
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C. Got to do our research before stealing a throne.
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Mar 26, 2023 17:31
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B since imperial history appears to be lies, let’s talk shop.
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Mar 27, 2023 00:36
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C. Need more background on what we're going to take.
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Mar 27, 2023 08:02
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I asked her to tell me her understanding of history. “I assume you mean what I think, not the official version.” “Yes. What were we before we were the Empire?” “Long ago, we were a minor feudal kingdom. Pretty insignificant. Nobles fought wars between themselves more than against anyone else, which meant we would be easy pickings if we weren't vassals to dragon lords.” “More than one? How did that work?” “Not well. They were half a dozen of them, maybe, and they weren’t a, you know, single entity. They were more like… a group of investors. Each entitled to a percentage of the tithe we paid them. They squabbled, a bit, although their squabbles tended to play out over decades or hundreds of years, so it didn’t make much of a difference day to day. They were pretty hands off, as long as the tithe kept coming their way, but no other kingdoms wanted to provoke their wrath by messing with us. That lasted for a few hundred years, but eventually the schisms between the different nobles and the nominal king became too much. We were on track for a bloody civil war. The dragons weren’t having it. They squashed a few armies. But the disagreements between them also grew through the ages, to the point they didn’t want to deal with each other. So they carved us up between themselves, and instituted a different form of government to placate the population. We became republics, or as we liked to call ourselves, the Merchant Republics. Money, not blood, ruled. Of course, those with the most money had been nobles in the first place, so initially the difference was cosmetic. That time period is where we got a lot of our traditions from. The system we think of as our past was just as designed, just as purposeful, as what the Emperor did. Don’t get me wrong, every nation’s history is rewritten over and over again. The Emperor was just… more thorough. He was smart.”“So, we were a bunch of independent republics, each trying to invent a different character for itself to pretend we didn’t gently caress up being a single kingdom. Sure, art and culture flourished, but in all practical aspects it was a mess. Each republic had dozens of noble houses, each with its own commercial interests, and there was nothing to hold them back. In some of the republics, the senate was a fig leaf. In others, it was a way for the most powerful noble houses to dominate the others. In most, it was more akin to a mediation mechanism. The only lesson the nobles learned was that you shouldn’t rock the boat too much and never, ever be late paying the dragon tithe. They still fought, but now they fought with daggers and poisons instead of armies.” “You can’t build a coherent state out of that. And if we were ever to become more than what we were, we would need to become a real state. Central authority. A national army. Taxes. Bureaucracy. Codified law. And humanity ascendant. That’s what the future the Emperor saw. That’s the future the Emperor invented.” “You seem to have a pretty negative view of the nobility for a…” “For a noble? Why shouldn’t I? I don’t trace my lineage to them, as far as I know. Like I said, in his early days the Emperor was handing out titles like candy. He needed reliable allies, and a break from the past. Most of the republic’s nobility was wiped out. Those that sided with the Emperor got new names and new histories.” “Would you feel differently if your lineage did trace to them?”I had become lost in the conversation, and didn’t even think of what a breach of tact this would be. Amelia thought in silence for a long time. I was afraid I had lost a new friend as quickly as I made one. I needn’t have worried. For all of her impetuousness, she was extremely analytical and an excellent judge of character. She might have being doing most of the talking, but she was the one interviewing me. I think it was that early, during that fateful carriage ride, that she understood what I was planning. “No. I wouldn’t.” She smiled ruefully.“What did my family truly give me? Privilege. I never needed to worry about going hungry, or not being able to get something I truly wanted. Don’t get me wrong, that is a lot. More than most get. But was it really theirs to give? No. It was simply happenstance. They happened to be wealthy and important because of something that happened hundreds of years ago. Their only achievement was in not completely squandering that stroke of luck. Of course I feel some kind of obligation, some kind of love… it is natural. That’s how family works, that’s how humans work. But did they earn it? Do they deserve it? Hell no. I don’t hate the system, but I don’t care about it either. It is what it is. And you know what? I hate when things are the way they are just because that’s how they are. That’s how you become irrelevant. The Emperor was brilliant when he transformed society, but we haven’t meaningfully evolved since then. Nothing lasts forever. Sooner or later cracks begin to show, no matter how much you try to cover them up.” That’s what you have to understand about Amelia. She loved change. Not lofty ideals or grand hopes, but change itself. It was good for the feudal kingdom to change into the merchant republics. It was good for the merchant republics to change into the Empire. And it would be good for the Empire to change into something else. Change was life, status quo was stagnation, and stagnation was a slow death. She didn’t really care that the Empire was unjust, or embroiled in wars across three continents. She cared that it was old. I think that’s why we fell in love. In her, I saw a refutation of all my preconceived notions about the nobility. In me, she saw the potential for the greatest change of the last 200 years. The Silent Citadel was incredible. It was a massive stronghold, built by titans in ages past. It loomed on a steep hill, in the middle of a ring of artificial desert. It was halfway through crossing that I fully understood why. I felt serene in a way I never had. Every living thing pulses with energy, very minutely. This produces tiny ripples in the fabric of reality that are imperceptible – until you suddenly no longer feel them. Like the buzzing of a fly you got used to. The difference wasn’t dramatic, but it was definitely noticeable. There was a new clarity to my thoughts and emotions. An island of lifelessness sounds grim, but it wasn’t like that. The desert was small, and from the windows of the Citadel you had a breath-taking view of lush forest, distant mountains, and on a clear day night, the lights of The City. The Citadel inspired in me a sense of beauty and awe, but also a sense of sadness. It was too large for humans, and the grounds were far larger than the school itself. Most of the stronghold was abandoned and dilapidated, with only the main areas maintained and furnished luxuriously. The school itself only maintained a minimal support staff in addition to the tutors. We were the smallest intake in the school’s history. There were only half a dozen of us gathered in a grand hall that could seat a hundred.  “I am Headmaster Kahlo. I hate protocol, so you may simply call me “Teacher”, like all your other tutors. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Citadel.” “You will notice there are not many of us here. This is by design. This is meant to be a controlled environment, and the life energy of too many people would defeat the point. Just as importantly, the Empire does not need spoilt brats. The Empire needs sorcerers that are grounded in reality, in our culture, and in the needs of the state and of the people. You won’t have servants here. You will take care of your chambers. You will mop the floors. You will cook and share meals. You will learn basic carpentry and masonry. You’ll learn to read, if you don’t know already. You’ll practice poetry, calligraphy, painting, dancing, duelling, farming, handling firearms, horsemanship and all the thousand facets of life.” “You have all shown an aptitude for some aspect of sorcery. Your study will focus on the aspect most suited to you, but you will also be expected to gain a basic competency in all major disciplines. This is a demanding life, and some of you may not make it. Do not be afraid of failure. You have made it this far, and you’re already special. Even if you do not graduate as a full-fledged sorcerer, the Empire has an endless need for scholars and researchers. You will have work, and the stipend for your family is conditional on your loyalty, not your achievements. Do not push yourself beyond your limits. Sorcery is a deadly art, and if you push too far, you will likely maim yourself or die.” “The library here contains copies of all the most important texts relating to our art. I’m sure you’ve heard lurid tales of banned, evil grimoires. I’m sorry to disappoint. You are not children. No knowledge or area of research is forbidden to you. We are here to teach you and guide you, but sorcery is deeply personal. You need to discover, experiment and adapt techniques to yourself. There is just one commandment: don’t be stupid.” “Speaking of being stupid, there is one more thing I have to cover. I’m sure you have not failed to notice this is an impressive fortress. I’m equally sure you are all loyal subjects of the Empire, but you’re also all young, and young people can have daring thoughts when they first gain great power. You might be wondering how come there had only ever been one sorcerer rebellion, 183 years ago. The answer is simple: this fortress depends on weekly deliveries of food and water, and the 7th Special Purpose Regiment is headquartered a day’s march from here. They are armed with rifles and cannons, and their daily task is evaluating new military technologies and tactics. They are also all veterans. It’s a cozy posting, a reward for meritorious service. It’s a cozy posting because there are no sorcerer uprisings.” “With that matter dealt with, let me once more offer a warm welcome. It is my great privilege to teach the next generation of great sorcerers.” Our quarters were stunning. They were huge, like everything in the Citadel. My chamber’s floor was a rich marble mosaic depicting the Academy’s symbol. Initially, I was confused by how empty it was, before I learned that we were free to decorate them ourselves. The Citadel had a storage room full of the finest carved furniture, rich tapestries, beautiful carpets and the biggest and softest beds I have ever seen. It was another way to buy our loyalty. It was overwhelming. I didn’t lose sight of my plan, but these new environments brought out new aspects of my personality. A. I began to revel in the social scene, and developed an appreciation for the finer things in life B. I grew more melancholic, troubled to live in the ruins of a civilization long gone C. I become bookish, obsessed with knowledge D. I focused on the physical, chasing adrenaline and the pride of sore muscles
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Mar 29, 2023 22:28
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C: Bookish, for knowledge is power, theories can be applied, and every road has been walked before if you can find the footprints.
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Mar 30, 2023 00:37
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C. It's time to hit the books.
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Mar 30, 2023 00:39
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C. BOOKS.
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Mar 30, 2023 11:58
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A Quiet Interlude We laid together on the battlements, gazing at the stars. “Amelia?”“Yes?”“Why are we at war all the time?”“Because we have to be.”“Thank you for the exhaustive answer.”“The Emperor is a conqueror. That’s how he formed the Empire, that’s how the thinks, and that’s the social contract. We expand. We needed money, so he slayed the dragons and took their hoards. Now we need to feed our factories, so we take coal and ore. Now we conquer for luxuries. Chocolate, spices, coffee, opium. Every decade, something new. That’s the only way to keep the Empire going.”“But we’ll start losing, eventually.”“Yes. Inevitably.”“What will happen then?”“I don’t know.”I was silent for a long time. “We’ll face it together.”“Yes. Together.”
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Mar 31, 2023 21:52
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As plundered the storerooms for decorations and artefacts, our rooms became reflections of our personalities. Amelia’s was a bright riot of colours and patterns. I opted for comforting neutral greys, and soon my room became full of far too many bookshelves, writing desks, and piles of scribbled notes. Amelia had awakened in me a deep passion of knowledge and reading. My parents were well enough off that I was able to learn the basics of reading, but I had never before experienced the joy of losing myself in a book. Whole new worlds were opening up to me. My romance with Amelia deepened. We were kindred spirits, and I sought her out whenever I wasn’t lost in thought or exhausted from training sessions. I don’t understand how she found the energy to accompany me in my research, spend hours practicing horsemanship and the rapier, and attend nearly every party. I became withdrawn, spending more and more time in the library and neglecting social contact. I could always find allies later; first I had to understand power. I became obsessed with the idea that we were not being taught everything. After all, wasn’t the Emperor immortal? Wasn’t his power unmatched? After months of joint research, we began developing our own theory. It was becoming more and more clear to us: the Empire relied on sorcery, but it didn’t truly understand it. It didn’t understand it because sorcery didn’t want to be understood. Dozens of tomes were filled with sound theories backed up by experimental data, and yet the theories were contradictory. Sometimes, it seemed like something worked for a decade or two, then abruptly stopped. Only the broad strokes seemed consistently reliable. “We’re too scientific about it. We’re an industrial society. We study, understand, exploit. That’s what’s different about the Empire. That’s why we have sorcery and our enemies don’t, but it’s also why we understand it less than the titans did.” “No, it… can’t be… Can it? I want to pick holes in it, but that’s the only explanation that makes sense.”“What did you feel when you first manifested power?”“Anger.”“Desperation. Fear of failure.”“Strong emotions.”“Exactly. Not reason. Emotions. Remember what the teachers keep telling us? Sorcery is dangerous partially because it’s addictive. I think… I think sorcery wants to be used. But it doesn’t want to be controlled.”“It can’t be sentient though. Can it?”“I don’t think it needs to be. Lighting doesn’t have to think about where to strike, and wind doesn’t have to think about where to blow. I don’t think it needs to be… any word we understand. Look, here, in Blanchard’s “An Examination of Sorcerous Creatures”. He acknowledges there are some kind of… he uses the word entities, within sorcery. He specifically says entities because they defy classification. He systematically debunks terms like demons, gods, ghosts, sprits. They’re not self-contained beings, they blur into each other, and yet each is different. De Gramont builds on it with “Information Flow Among Sorcerous Creatures” and his findings make no logical sense. He isolates entities, communicates with them, and sometimes the next day they are completely unaware of him, while others know exactly what was said.”“You think they’re not creatures of sorcery. You think they are sorcery.”“Maybe? They’re something we don’t understand, and maybe shouldn’t try.”“So where do we go from here?”“We keep it to ourselves. We test it. Listen to the teachers, keep the discipline, but experiment with emotions. As fuel. And don’t think so much. But be careful. Our bodies and souls are still the conduit. There’s only so much power at once we can flow safely.”“What if that’s not the only way?”“One mystery at a time, dear. One mystery at a time.”We didn’t have it all figured out, but we were on to something. We began to excel in our tests. The Empire’s culture and ideology were stopping it from truly mastering sorcery. The harder it tried, the more true understanding slipped out of its grasp. This is not to say the teaching wasn’t immensely valuable. I paid close attention in every lecture, and gained deeper mastery day by day.  “You have spent the past several months gaining basic command over each coarse aspect of sorcery. Today I will introduce you to a central concept applicable to all disciplines. We call it Fateweaving.”“I’m sure you’re sick of the textile analogies already, but bear with me. It really is the best analogy we have, flawed though it might be. Picture our reality as an infinitely complex tapestry. A crude sorcerer punches holes in this tapestry. A sophisticated sorcerer unpicks and rearranges singular threads. There are still dangers: you might inadvertently tangle up with another tapestry, for example. But broadly speaking, it is safer than a crude application of power.” “With the right mindset and with practice, you will begin to see the threads that make the world. There are myriad threads. There are those that form the basic structure of the physical environment. There are those of life force. But the subtlest type of thread is that of destiny, fate, probability.” “It’s the one that requires the most skill, yet least power to manipulate. That’s what makes it so important. Picture a battle. How do you ensure victory? You could start throwing fireballs, of course, and if you’re lucky, one will be enough to turn the battle. You throw too many, you’ll burn yourself out. But what if you increased the chances of victory itself? What if you brought down the failure rate of damp gunpowder by 5%? What if our cannons were just slightly more accurate, slightly faster firing than the enemy’s? What if their weapons became less reliable, or their soldiers found mud more slippery than we did? These all seem like small changes, but imagine the cumulative effect on a long campaign. This is the key to the Empire’s power. Our ships find favourable winds. Our harvests are just a little more bountiful. Our battlefield wounds are just a little less likely to get infected. It doesn’t sound very exciting, until you start thinking on an Imperial scale. A battle sorcerer might burn out after an hour of intense combat. A fateweaver can serve the Empire for decades, then retire with most of their body and soul intact.”  “Can you modify your own fate?”“No. You’re too close to it. Can’t assess objectively. Can’t see the threads. And even if you could get someone you trust to do it for you, modifying destiny beyond a light touch is nearly impossible.”“You said nearly impossible. Has it ever been done?”“Not in the Empire. Archaeological digs imply some other cultures might have attempted it, but it is impossible to say whether they succeeded, or if those were simply cultural rituals.” “What about inanimate objects?”“It’s an area of intense research as we speak. A bullet fated to find the enemy’s heart, or a cannonball fated to land in the general’s tent would be of obvious, immense advantage. It’s also a reasonable assumption that different minerals or alloys might resonate with sorcery in different ways. No large scale success as of yet, as far as I know.”“We know sorcerous items exist. How do they come into being?”“Another excellent question. There’s maybe a hundred tomes on it in the library, but the short version is: we don’t know. Sometimes we find them in archaeological digs, but they’re so faded they become collectible knick-knacks, rather than anything of practical utility. Sometimes a seemingly normal item acquires a certain aura, but we haven’t been able to systematise the process or divine any consistent rules. Sorcery still a young science, after all. Perhaps some of you will be able to advance it.”A banquet was held to celebrate the end of our first year of study. I had managed to dodge most parties so far, but even I couldn’t avoid this one. “Come now, you need to get to know the others.”“I don’t care about the others.”“You should. We can’t pull it off alone, you know.”“Pull what off?” “Your plan, of course. Why do you think I hang around with you so much? There’s more to you than your charm. There is potential. No, don’t give me that look, and don’t say anything. The walls have ears, and I can read you like an open book anyway.”“I shouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t love you so much if you weren’t smart.” “Thank you. Point is, you have to study the other students. Some of them might turn out to be your allies. Some of them might turn out to be your enemies. It’s important to know both.”We were a strange bunch. Each one of us would turn out to have a special destiny. Some people say it was my presence that influenced it. Some say it was simple coincidence. I think it’s because an age was coming to an end. You could feel it. The Empire was starting to crumble, and something was in the air. There was Alexandre, who you now know as the Lich King. Vivien, who would later terrorize the seas as the Black Corsair. Lambert, who would become the greatest artificer in history. Josefine, who would become the Blood Knight. And… I forget his name. You see, that’s his power. A very useful trait for a spy and assassin, I’m sure you’d agree. In them, I would find one uneasy ally, and one bitter enemy. 1. My ally would be: A. Alexandre B. Vivien C. Lambert D. Josefine E. The one without a name My enemy would be: A. Alexandre B. Vivien C. Lambert D. Josefine E. The one without a name
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Apr 2, 2023 02:25
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Ally: A Enemy: D. Up Lich King, down Blood Knight!
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Apr 2, 2023 02:43
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Ally: E. The one without a name Enemy: C. Lambert
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Apr 2, 2023 04:05
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Ally: C, Lambert. An artificer could be exceptionally useful. Enemy: E, The Nameless One. Once we ended him it was easy to erase him from history.
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Apr 2, 2023 06:28
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Ally: C, Lambert. We need artificers on our side, not against us. Enemy: E, The Nameless. Too dangerous to let go.
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Apr 2, 2023 13:16
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Ally: E Enemy: E It's complicated.
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Apr 4, 2023 04:59
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Having to cook communal meals was paying dividends. A year ago, we made basic stews. Today, the tables strained under all manner of roasts, pastries, pies and cakes. Fresh fish, snails and mussels were brought in for us, along with cheeses, creams, and the finest chocolates the provinces could produce. We took turns in the kitchens, and kept our work secret from the others. Even though we all spent two days preparing the feast, we were still surprised and delighted by all the meals we hadn’t had a hand in. We felt like royalty. Everyone was there, but after a few toasts, the teachers and support staff retreated to their own corner of the grand hall. This was a celebration of us, and they wanted to give us the space to be ourselves. This meant an excellent opportunity to assess the other students in more depth. I would need allies, and Amelia was complicated. I loved her too much. I knew that one day I would have need for someone... more disposable.  Alexandre. While Amelia was in many ways my opposite, Alexandre was my mirror image. We both had a focus on life energy, but worked from other ends of the problem, as it were. I was better at controlling and amplifying a body’s natural resistance and healing processes. He was more interested in interacting with the damage directly, stopping and reversing it. To that end, he was quickly acquiring an encyclopaedic knowledge of wounds, diseases and plagues. We were kindred spirits, and in the years to come would spend much time discussing theories and techniques. However, I could immediately tell that he was almost as ambitious as I was. There was no way he could be a piece in my great game. He was unquestionably a player.  Lambert. He was the kindest of us. He was just as intense and focused as the rest of us, but more patient. He didn’t need glory today: he wanted his heritage to continue long after all our histories were forgotten and our names were dust. He would also prove the easiest to manipulate. This is not to say he didn’t have a keen mind, or wasn’t aware when he was being manipulated. But if you set a sufficient challenge before him, he would find it hard to resist. Set a historic challenge before him, and he would become obsessed. He would become an ally of immense utility, but he wasn't exactly reliable. In the years to come, he would work with all of us, and become a sort of mediator when we were at odds.  Vivien. She was what you’d expect. An adventurous spirit. Not as vivacious as Amelia, more restless. Uncomfortable with staying at the Citadel so long. She was full of wanderlust, always speaking of the places she had seen and those she couldn’t wait to see. She had a particular affinity for water and wind. That's why she ended up so dangerous at sea. Nearly impossible to catch, and able to brutally dismantle fleets triple the size of hers.  Josefine. None of us could have foreseen the monster she would become, except maybe Alexandre. At first, she was actually Amelia’s friend and favoured sparring partner. She was the only other noble in our group. She would turn out to be as keen and driven as the rest of us, but in that first year she seemed almost bored with theory and traditional applications of sorcery. Naively, I thought she was weaker. In reality, she was quietly pioneering entirely new techniques that were simply not applicable to an academic environment. The one I struggle to remember. I’ll call him the Shadow for convenience, but it’s not what he was known as. He wasn’t known. That’s the point. After all these years, I still don’t know how he did it, what kind of ancient ritual it took to be forgotten. In the years to come, he would be my bitter enemy, and one of my greatest threats. Imagine how hard it is to plan contingencies against someone you keep forgetting. I’m sure at the time, he must have fit in with the rest of us, or I would remember something was off. I think. I do remember the banquet vividly. We took turns dancing with each other, and at the end, all spent the night together. We didn’t feel like social taboos had any relevance to us. We were young, powerful, and full of the Empire’s finest wine. I had achieved my goal of making an impression on Lambert. He approached me the next day.  “I want to show you something.”I followed him through the fortress, then outside, on to the battlements. “We’re not normal students. I have a friend at another Academy. They’re full of washouts. The students that are doing well are destined for growing grain, or chemical manufacturing, or crude battlefield magic.”He looked at me over his shoulder. “Not like us. Here, take this lantern.” “I can see that everyone is making alliances. Alexandre and Josefine. You and Amelia. Vivien and that other one. I don’t want to be left out. So I’m going to let you in on a secret. You’re smart, and I want your opinion.”  “On what?”“You’ll see.”We passed doorways that had been boarded up. We continued past warning signs in faded white and yellow paint. DANGER: RISK OF COLLAPSE We continued on. DANGER: UNEXCAVATED AREA We wandered through foreboding, crumbling passages for what seemed like an age. “I’ve been fascinated by this place since we got here. We live here, but know so little about it. There was never any serious attempt at archaeology, not after the Empire decided it was the perfect place for an academy. But look at this architecture! We couldn’t build things like that. If we tried, it would take…”“Decades?”“Close to a century, optimistically.”“So you’ve been coming down here and exploring.”“Yes. For the last six months.”“I take it you found something interesting.”“It’s *all* interesting, Misha. The layout, the mosaics, the building material itself! But yes. You could say I found something special. Can you feel it?”“No. I can’t feel anything.”“Really? Fascinating. Maybe I’m the only one attuned to it. A faint pull. That’s how I knew where to try to dig my way to. Right… here.”We squeezed past some rubble into a massive chamber, preserved in remarkably good condition. We used sorcery to amplify the light of our lanterns, and it took my breath away. “Yes. Now you see.”We were standing at the entrance of a grand: A. Forge B. Armoury C. Temple
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Apr 6, 2023 20:04
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C. Temple
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Apr 6, 2023 21:25
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A: Forge Tools call to the artificer. Wonders still to be shaped. A finished product is the start of a new project, or a call to endless tinkering. Belief in the self matters more than divine externalities.
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Apr 7, 2023 13:43
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A
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Apr 7, 2023 14:09
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C
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Apr 7, 2023 14:50
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C. Temple Misha and Amelia have already stumbled onto this idea that there's an ineffable agency to magic, a mind or at least something like a mind that resides within and is embodied by it. They've theorized that this understanding is related to what made the Titans capable of feats that yet lie beyond the reach of modern sorcery. A temple, or at least a place that looks like a temple to the unwitting and unfamiliar, seems like the ideal place to dive even further into this peculiarity.
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Apr 8, 2023 06:40
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A. Forge. The only option worthy of Lambert's skill.
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Apr 8, 2023 08:15
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We stood at the entrance of a titanic forge. No, that's not accurate. A forge complex."Holy poo poo.""My thoughts exactly.""So how come no one else found it?""No one looked. And I don't think that's a coincidence."""I take your meaning, but go ahead and elaborate.""It is true that an archaeological dig would be a distraction. The Citadel might not work well as an Academy while it was underway. But no meaningful excavation in 200 years? Come on."""You mean that it's not the act of digging that would be inconvenient. It's what we might find.""Spot on. We call the Emperor The First Sorcerer, but that's a simplistic term. Even the official story says he brought sorcery to humanity. He didn't invent it completely."""He learned from someone.""Maybe from here. I wouldn't jump to that conclusion, but it is plausible. Either way, there might be things here that would imply an inconvenient avenue of research."""You're definitely on to something. As a society, our understanding of sorcery is clearly inferior to the Emperor's, even though all our understanding flows from him. Not directly, of course, but who would do research along a contradictory path? Who would dare? Hell, who would bother? When the divine makes a suggestion, only a fool - or heretic - would think to question it.""This is not just a forge. You don't decorate a dirty working space this intricately. This has 'sacral' written all over it."""Your conclusion?""Conclusion is a strong word. Let's say impression. My impression is that in addition to whatever pantheon, the titans worshipped the act of forging. Either forging specifically, or creation, making, in general. Based on the incredible engineering of this whole Citadel, I'm leaning towards the latter. But it's undeniable that there is something thrilling and mysterious about working with molten metals."""You brought me here for a purpose. What can I help you with?""I need your help analysing the space. Working out theories. Seeing if there is anything applicable. In theory, we could bring this place back to life, but that would be a huge endeavour. Impossible to do in secret or without the Academy's approval, and I'd rather keep this between us. But I could replicate this, on a scale workable by a human.""And in return?""I will make you things the like of which the world has never seen." I grinned and shook his hand. Unbidden, the memory of my first test of sorcery came to mind. One phrase echoed uneasily in my thoughts. "The bargain is struck." Shorter update without a decision point as I am away from my PC for Easter. There might be one more like that if I get too bored. Regular updates will resume next week. Thank you everyone for engagement! This is my first CYOA and it means a lot to me. Feel free to speculate, or suggest where we go from here. I have a lot in mind, but would love to work in some of your ideas. Zeppelin Insanity fucked around with this message at 13:00 on Apr 8, 2023 |
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Apr 8, 2023 12:28
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Delightful! I'm excited to see where this goes.
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Apr 9, 2023 00:22
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The space held many secrets. There were residues that hinted at unfamiliar alloys. There were moulds for giant weapons and armour. There were mosaics depicting acts of creation. There were runes unknown to us. One by one, we pried the secrets open."They seem to have had a penchant for beryllium alloys."Any particular use for that?""High rigidity and light weight, but I'm sure there is more to it. It is extremely hazardous to work with. They wouldn’t if it didn’t hold some deeper meaning.”"Look at the layout. This space is not set up for efficiency in the same way we understand it. But it's not primitive, by any means. There must be a reason. There seem to be ritual spaces around certain major steps. It is reasonable to assume more than merely cultural or religious significance. I would bet there is a practical element.""It does give me some ideas. The Empire uses sorcerers to optimize chemical manufacturing. Why not metallurgy? I'm sure it's been considered, but deemed not worth the effort.""What kind of ideas?""Theoretically, there is a lot you can use sorcery for. You could remove miniscule impurities. You could pattern weld. You could blend metals. You could even affect the alignment of crystalline matrices. In theory, it would not take a lot of power. In practice, it would take a hell of a lot of experience, and maybe a spark of genius.""Treat me as a layman. Let's assume you can do that. To what end, practically?""The obvious answer is optimizing for different characteristics. Strength, ductility, and so on. But that doesn't seem worth the effort. I'm sure there is more. We have mosaics depicting acts of creation, but we also have ones depicting objects and mythical deeds.""Go on.""What if some combination of characteristics - alloy, shape, crystalline matrix, ritual blessing, whatever - creates an object that resonates with sorcery in a particular way?""It would certainly make sense. How do we test this theory?""Experimentation. Hundreds, maybe thousands of experimental objects. This place leads us to broad strokes, but there is no way to communicate such fine information in stonework. It was probably a skill, passed down from masters, likely with a religious dimension.""But you could do it. Eventually." His usually kind face twisted in a predatory smile. "Ohh yess."… In the second year of our studies, we shifted from theory to practice. I spent more and more time in the training grounds. With a good grasp of fundamental theories of sorcery, I could now exert power in all the major disciplines, albeit without virtuosity. When it came to life energy, however, I was becoming a true master, capable of both subtle manipulation and mass surges of power. I gained basic competency with the rapier, despite the fencing instructor’s repeated frustrations at my lack of aptitude. I simply did not care much for it – why bother with the blade when I could kill with a touch? Equally, I put little effort into learning horsemanship or firearms. Instead, I focused on theory applied on a larger scale. To steal the throne, I would need a strong foundation in military matters. In my studies, patterns emerged. Time and again, I saw the Empire's enemies crushed not by strategic brilliance, or even the battlefield application of sorcery, but by the cold calculus of industrial might. Time and again, I saw inspiring acts of bravery and tactical genius, and all for naught. Finally, nearly all of them chose to bet everything on one last throw of the dice, and always lost. My gamble was one of historic proportions. I could not afford to make the same mistakes. There will be no throw of the dice, no death rides to glory. I would do everything to stack the odds in my favour. Parts of the plan will inevitably fail. I will develop contingencies upon contingencies. As time passed, our personalities become more like the forms of sorcery we excelled at. I suspect it was a circular relationship. We first demonstrated aptitude in areas that seemed connected with our personality or history, and continued use pushed us further in those initial directions. Alexandre’s parents had been healers in a minor village, without specialized medical education or facilities. He'd seen his fair share of death from accidents and diseases. As the novelty of luxury and influence wore off, he became increasingly grim. He maintained an air of debonair charm, but would frequently slip into melancholy or detached pragmatism. His quarters began to fill with surgical tools, medical texts, and preserved bones. Lambert’s parents were smiths. They had survived the drop in demand caused by the rise of manufactories, and in time, found their way to some level of prestige working for noble clients. Now, he was always scribbling in notebooks, drawing intricate designs beyond my comprehension. He seemed to deflate when taken away from his musings, a stereotype of a tortured artist. When you showed interest, he would talk your ear off, and we all loved him for it. His passion was infectious. Vivien was the daughter of the crew of a merchant ship. She’d grown up at sea, visiting every major trading port of the Empire and beyond. Her wanderlust became painful, and she’s spend as much time as possible travelling. Her mood became unstable and unpredictable, and we all dreaded setting her off. Josefine was a noble, a minor extension of a major House. Her parents had won glory as officers in the 21st Cuirassiers, and her upbringing has always centred military matters. She swapped the traditional rapier for a cavalry sabre, and began to wear armour. We thought it was ridiculous, but a single stare from Josefine chilled the blood in your veins. There was a strange tension to her, like the feeling you get before a storm. It wasn’t anything you could see with your eyes. She was a sorcerer that did not expend much power in the traditional ways we were used to, and being in her presence was unnerving. The Shadow faded from social events. He stood apart, and we were always surprised when he chimed in to a discussion. It wasn’t just me. We all stopped paying attention to his presence. I recall Amelia and myself being quite stable by comparison, but how would I know? Perhaps we changed and I simply did not notice. Or perhaps my focus on stealing the throne was obsession enough. We began to sustain injuries from training. Sprains, cuts, bruises, burns, broken bones. Those in turn became additional training for me and Alexandre. Despite our differences we shared a certain bond, and respect for each other’s techniques. In more difficult cases, we worked wonders as a team. The injuries didn’t slow us down. Being able to heal in days or hours was intoxicating. Perversely, injuries became a mark of pride, and we pushed ourselves further and further. The teachers admonished us time and again, but we were not the same kind of students they were used to. We were too driven, too competitive and too arrogant. We felt destined for greatness. I think the teachers saw it too. That’s why they chided us, sometimes shouted and sometimes punished us, but never stepped in. They did not want to stop us. We came to resent our limits. We thought ourselves demigods, cruelly denied our full potential. It proved prophetic, but at the time it was pure arrogance. Our training began to include darker subjects. Officers from the Bureau of Counterintelligence arrived to lecture us on the dangers of kidnapping and assassination. We learned how to use sorcerous wards to protect our rooms and belongings. They wanted to teach us to resist torture, but we successfully argued that anyone powerful enough to put us in that situation would be smart enough to kill us immediately. Officials from different branches of the Empire began to arrive and evaluate us for future roles. We would take frequent field trips to learn things the Citadel couldn’t teach. The Shadow caught the eye of Counterintelligence. Amelia trained with artillery regiments, Josenfine with the cuirassiers, Vivien with the navy and Lambert with the Department of Ordnance. Myself and Alexandre began to travel to nearby cities to provide medical aid. The military wanted us for battlefield medicine, but we needed to stay close to the Citadel until graduation, rather than being shipped off to distant frontlines. … We were urgently summoned to a small industrial town of Chimique. There had been an explosion at its eponymous chemical manufacturing plant. The death toll was already in the hundreds, and rising quickly. Alexandre and I were to treat the wounded, and the Shadow was to investigate the cause. We rode at breakneck pace, acutely conscious that every minute counted.  It was like entering a dream world. It felt unreal. Even after the smoke plume dissipated, the sky was a strange colour. The streets were silent and empty. All who could had evacuated. Those who couldn’t awaited us in hastily set up field hospital. The doctors and medics greeted us with an exhausted sigh of relief. We immediately set to work on the most challenging cases. Some writhed in agony from chemical burns. Others choked and gasped for air as their lungs failed them. " “Too many.” “Too many.”With our powers, we could work miracles. We cleared airways. Regenerated tissue. Purged contaminants from blood. As soon as someone was treatable by mundane means, they were moved out of our ward. Just as quickly, corpses were removed. There were only two of us, and a hundred victims needing our attention. We pushed ourselves to the limit. I collapsed momentarily and sat on the floor with my back against a wall. I just wanted to close my eyes for a moment. Then I felt a familiar surge of power. I opened my eyes and shot to my feet. I caught the wet sound of Alexandre removing an ornate knife from a victim’s heart. " “What did you just do?!” “Triage.”" “You… You drew power from one of the victims, didn’t you? You killed a man to heal another.” “Like I said. Triage.”" “That's different! You murdered someone!” “That’s what every battlefield medic does. They judge who will live and who will die, and focus on those who will live. We’re both barely standing. You also know full well we couldn’t have done anything for him. The toxins had breached the blood brain barrier. This way, another one lives. It’s no different.”I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. His logic was sound. His medical assessment was correct. My visceral, emotional reaction was disgust, but could I really claim any moral high ground? It’s not like I wasn’t aware my path to the throne would involve far greater sacrifices. He had done it. He cracked the code. He found a way to circumvent our natural limits. It’s what we were all looking for. It’s what I was looking for. I was: A. Intrigued. I would need this power, and he was right. Once you disregarded natural squeamishness, it was logical. B. Horrified. The price was too high. I would have to find another way.
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Apr 13, 2023 09:49
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A. We have come too far to be squeamish now. It is triage, nothing more.
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Apr 13, 2023 14:16
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B There is always, always more than one way to do it. The whole nature of sorcery indicates many paths. He has found one and is to be silently lauded for that, horrible though it is. We will find others, whose existence is indicated by this discovery, but others not antithetical to power or purpose.
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Apr 13, 2023 14:56
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B Not horrified - it just seems impractical for our goals. How would we keep followers, inspire people with our oratory if we're also using their lives to fuel our power?
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Apr 13, 2023 20:06
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