Text; UN: TheWizard

[tomatowizard]

Hello,

I thought maybe we should touch bases now that we're back from the fissure. There was some important things going on there that should probably be discussed.

First: The giant crystal in the basement. That thing was a vortex of magical power that I couldn't look at directly without feeling like I was staring at the sun. I didn't want to risk touching it, but I understand several other more

[She stops typing for a minute to consider how to phrase this other than "stupid and foolhardy"]

more risk prone individuals did touch it and were not vaporized on the spot, so I'd be interested in hearing what you thought of that.

Second: I did some reading in the library of Silvereagle Manor and was able to find some rather cryptic references to the basement crystal. I could find frustratingly little concrete data about it, but they did apparently think of it as an item of religious importance. It was referred to as "The Eye", and was apparently a way of communicating with the Planet. Or with "The soul of the planet". Both terms are used interchangeably.

Third: A question, rather than an observation. If I say the word "Golem" to you, what do you imagine? Because I felt like I was thinking of something a little different from everyone else.

If anyone else discovered any useful or interesting information in their explorations, I think it would benefit us all to share it here.

Sincerely,
Samata Mahto.
Wizard.

Comments

Justcaws

[foolishjustice]

The stone in the basement was a communications tool used to talk to an entity that is the source of magic in this world. It's the one bringing us here, searching frantically for a part of itself that's been stolen.

We have reason to suspect that part of itself is somehow related to the Fissures, too.

And on the third question, golems are magical constructs made of normally inanimate material, that are made to move around and follow orders. Sort of like the suits of armor in the manor.

[whatsmytalentagain]

... Woah.

Yeah, I think the golems in your world are a whole nother animal than what's out here. I don't even equate moving suits of armor as golems. Aren't they more like ghosts?

[tomatowizard]

I don't know, I've never met a ghost.

[tomatowizard]

See, this is why I brought this up on the communication device here. I had no idea any of this was commonly known. There really isn't much in the way of organization here is there?

[foolishjustice]

I normally try to hold meetings after every major discovery, but it does seem like me and my fiance are the only ones who bother trying to keep a sense of organization. And even that only helps those who attend and are able to keep up with the discussion.

The existence of the entity and its missing piece should only be unknown to new arrivals, but given how chaotic the meeting discussing it got, I can easily imagine the relevant information being missed by someone who was simply overwhelmed.

I've honestly been considering compiling a booklet of important information after every new discovery, and leaving it with the signs.

[tomatowizard]

And it said that fragment was on a mountain?

Are we sure we can trust this thing?

[tomatowizard]

That's fair enough. I just wish I had more details to offer but, as I mentioned, the research was frustratingly vague.

Arcana training being a formalized understanding of arcane theory?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Yeah. Most spellcasters who aren't using divine sources benefit from knowing the theory where I'm from, even though most classes actually cast very differently. Stuff like deciphering magical writing without setting it off if it is trapped is the realm of Arcana. There's a related skill called Spellcraft for correctly ID'ing spells and their effects during and after they're cast.

[riderofcharlemagne]

Yeah it was really messed up.

He needed a 'core' for it but he planned to use my friend and I didn't want him to die so I took him and ran.

So I guess he used that kid instead.

[motherfucking_ghost]

It pointed us to a high mountain and a cave in the mountain. It doesn't talk with words, just like. Visions and emotions.

We can't trust literally anything but I mean, might as well start somewhere figuring out why anything here happens.

[whatsmytalentagain]

[He has. Sort of.]

Then what about those dancing skeletons and the ballroom spirits that forced people to dance with them?

[tomatowizard]

I'd never met a ghost before I came here, if you're going to be a stickler for accuracy. I'm not sure I believed in ghosts, to be honest, but the rules of what does and does not make sense are not always what they should be around here.

[whatsmytalentagain]

You're telling me...

[tomatowizard]

It certainly felt less stressful than the mines were, even discounting that I was lost in a strange place then.

[tomatowizard]

We're getting onto interesting theological ground here. According to the church, ALL magic users originally came from the generals of Istavan's army during the great crusade, who were granted access to arcane power to reinforce their positions as commanders. So, in theory, all magic users have a divine source.

Except me, of course.

[tomatowizard]

You're not wrong. At the very least, we should take a look.

[tomatowizard]

Artificial golems made using people. I've never heard of that kind of magic, and frankly I'm glad.

[tomatowizard]

I must have missed that. Some kind of central repository of what we've learned would definitely be a good starting point. There IS a library. Perhaps we should start making our own books for it.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Given that, where I'm from, the most common source of sorcerous power is draconic or demonic bloodlines...

Well, it's obviously a very different world. But the likes of clerics do things very differently.

Never mind that warlocks, who get their power from pacts with usually-dark powers, are also Arcane. As are some various specialized casters. Then there's Divine magic, and the more obscure stuff like Incarnum.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Yeah! Yeah, that's what I'm saying! It's really--it's kind of intense, the way it communicates, so like, some of that need is just the intensity bleeding through, but I really, really want to get to this place and try and help it be whole again.

[nojohnyouare]

...Maybe that's a trend. How a lot of Fissures do something to the body. That you have to adapt to. Lost senses. Different species.

[tomatowizard]

I had noticed this. I'm not enraptured by the concept.

[nojohnyouare]

I wonder. The creature must feel that way, too. Missing its part.

[tomatowizard]

You're saying it was so powerful that you're feeling its need to reclaim pieces of itself as if it was your own emotion?

Because that's a little bit creepy.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Well not now, but at the time it was pretty damn intense like it was my own emotion. Now it's just...kinship, kind of.

I promise I'm not possessed.