It felt like that sometimes but the more you thought about it these past couple days, the more you had to acknowledge you were at least more prepared for what you were about to do than that last time you found a band of brigands camped out in the forest and decided to walk inside. Mim was an invaluable resource for any sort of logistical planning necessary, Raid was young but you felt you could rely on him for cooperative measures, Gehr professed and had proven himself a competent trapper in his own right, and Marchovic...

Marchovic was the wild card. You knew little and less of what he was capable of save for his status as Shade's Representative and the fact that before inviting you on this quote-un-quote "date", he'd planned to route these people and their Wisp Adept leader himself. He didn't seem armed, lest you count a pair of hunting knives he kept on his person, and so far as your studies told you, Shade Adepts didn't have any particular gift to augment their intentions.

You were inarguably the weakest link on this team, yet between the locational properties of 'A Spider's Web' and the Relic stored on your person, direct combat was hardly what you were hoping to engage in. Just like that other time you had seen a fortified town full of people hostile and decided to sneak inside - You needed to be there to understand the circumstances before you could act. When put like that, you could argue that you had experience in these sorts of delicate situations, thus making you highly qualified for... Whatever it is you were going to do when you got in there.

You could absolutely argue that. But, if you had any say in the matter, Rinnier would never actually find out what happened out here so you wouldn't have to. If she did, then she'd probably ask you difficult questions like "Why didn't you just turn around?" and "Are you stupid?", so you had lots of reasons you planned on this venture being successful! Not the least of which being that the heir to the very family of nobility these brigands were rebelling against would probably be poorly received if they showed up uninvited.

All the same, Marchovic's attention had scarcely lapsed since you'd decided to go forward. It was a subtle thing, alerting you most often only due to the vague feeling that you were being watched than any times you'd caught his shark toothed grin turned your way. He seemed to occupy most of his time floating between the rest of the group, be it finding common ground with Gehr or getting under the skin of Mim and Raid, he kept himself busy in a way you'd almost call light hearted - Something evoking equal parts irritation and envy on your end, as you studiously aimed to guide everyone around patrols.

But the trickle of water gently flowing was sign enough that your efforts had paid off. Though it had never been a question of if you would make it to the river, arriving undetected felt good all the same.

"Alright blondie, what's next?" The Shade Representative cracked his neck absent mindedly, grinning out over the placidly drifting river. "Jump in and float down?"

"Right into their camp?" Raid shot back sarcastically, "Yeah, that'll go over well. I'm already looking forward to being a pincushion."

"Yeah, just don't get shot."

"Simple enough for you kids, but these old bones can't dodge as many arrows as they used to." Gehr sidelined, letting his backpack slough to the ground with a firm grip on its worn strap.

"How many arrows have you dodged, anyway?"

"None." The elder hunter's dry humoured response drew a snort out of Marchovic and Raid alike, much to the younger demihuman's consternation moments later. "Probably ain't about to start now, either. Feyliege if you don't mind me asking, what's our plan here?"

"..." You spared a glance as Mim staggered to a stop from the back of the line, flopping onto the ground unceremoniously with sweat-soaked hair clinging to her neck and cheeks. As a kid you'd expected her to have more energy, but you suppose she was even more of a shut-in than you'd been... And you hadn't been much better off when you took a walk to your cousin's not long ago. "We need information first and foremost." You began after a moment, "The only real way to get that will be to scout out the camp itself. Since it's only reconnaissance I don't see any need for everyone to go, so we should take the opportunity to divide our tasks going forward."

"I'll... Stay here..." Mim gasped, "Wish I couldn't feel my legs."

It was probably for the best that Mim did just that, but that left you the question of how to handle the rest of this. Who you wanted to enter the camp would force you to reconsider just how to do that, and what exactly you're liable to learn. The ones left behind had their own responsibilities to deal with though, and you couldn't be in two places at once.

You rubbed absently at your bracelet out of nervous habit, feeling its twin rings somewhat cooler against your skin than you were used to.

>Who is infiltrating the camp?

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoires - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm

Misc notes:A week late when I gave myself a week, and then a day late when I gave myself a day.


Memo:
1. Ask Asche what she wants, some time
2.
3.

>>3453733
>Marchovic's
Finally i can participate!

>>3453744
Welcome to the quest! I'm guessing you just caught up, so I hoped you enjoyed the ride.

Also to note, in case it's not immediately obvious, Irue is not immediately included in the "Who will infiltrate" roster, so if you want to go yourself that needs to be specified.

>>3453733
>Marchovic
I mean, might as well see what he can do.
Also, have a gift:
https://pastebin.com/ZiazqZpv

>>3453733
>Infiltrating the camp
>Not summoning an Undine apparition to wash it away
Have I opened a wrong quest? Okay then
>Infiltrate with Marchovic

>>3453885
If you'd like to do that, I'm more than happy to accept it as a write-in!

>>3453838
Oh hey, the review is finished. I'm kinda curious what my anons end up thinking of it.

>>3453838
>>3453910
Just read it, and I (mostly) agreed with the reviewer. It was certainly thought-provoking and entertaining to read, thanks review anon

>>3453733
Marchovic infiltrates initially, Raid looks for how to create a distraction if necessary.

Can we give Marchovich the book? Should we even trust him with it, or go ourselves with him?

>>3453838
> when it mentions my write in multiple times

Look we all make mistakes and we're friends with Mim now. And perfectly fitting with her character she's so competent that sometimes players forget she's like. 12?

I feel that the review misses out on a few things by forgetting that Irue is an unreliable narrator. Like, the world doesn't have a lot of depth presented because Irue doesn't know a lot about it, and has been way too busy dealing with bullshit to really go off randomly wandering around, and she's honestly not that super interested in it.

But when it does happen, it's quite in depth. The ateliers especially, but even our home mansion has gone through so many changes, as has Carona. Mostly directly due to Irues actions.

Since our fast-travel ability is literally just Kara, itself hard to quickly expand without time skips and if there's one thing Irue never has it's time.

>>3453733
>Marchovic
It's time to see just how good he is

>>3453733
>send Marchovic

He was planning on doing this alone anyway. We should stay behind, maybe see if Gher trusts us enough to link into the Web and help us dismember people.

Would Mim know if Marchovic gets captured?

I wonder if we could trick them into entering the atelier?

>>3454261
It probably returned to being a normal forest now.

>>3454291
They don't go away unless you conqueror them.

>>3454316
This one isn't a normal Atelier.

>>3454324
Well sure but that seems a little random, why would it just be a normal forest now? Am I missing something?

>>3454334
Because Dryad is deep asleep again.

>>3454339
Okay but why would that make the atelier disappear? I don't understand.

>>3454350
Because Dryad is what's creating it.
It isn't a normal Atelier, it's something that functions like an Atelier in most respects, but isn't one. Since Dryad is not an Aeon, for example.

>>3454357
Dryad IS an Aeon though, the whole point of the genocide was to tear Dryad away from its clarity sufficient so as to be contained.
https://ask.fm/RizQM/answers/146009971990
As for the atelier itself, it was certainly different from the previous one but we've only seen two of them and we have barely any information on how they work or where they come from, not enough to draw solid conclusions.

I still don't understand why it would go away but that's ok.

>>3453733
>Marchovic
He's the only real athletic one among us with sneaking potential. Gehr is the next bet, but he's a distant second.

>>3453737
You came back!

>misc
Don't worry, with your sleep schedule I figured you meant today anyway.

>>3453838
Not bad overall. Much more coherent than I could put together. I thoroughly disagree with the world building though. Worldbuilding is one of Valen's strong suits. It just doesn't look like much at first. I think part of that reason is it looks bog standard on the surface, but as we've explored the world the breadth comes out. The magic system is the most unusual, but you don't need flashy things to have a well crafted world.

Agreement on the cooldown periods. They help dispel some of the absurd tension that naturally accrues.
Also agreement on the drunk thing that started the second arc. That's the only problem I've had with the story so far, doubly so because it was what allowed Ari to get kidnapped again.

The walking and unknown thing is deliberate, I think. Aunt was trying to make us unfit for rule, so she stuck us days away from civilization, with only a single uncommunicative maid for company. We couldn't have had horses or carriages, those take servants to maintain even when not in use. We're unknown for the same reason; we were a recluse. stuffed as far away from civilization as possible.

Rinner was a massive pain to get on side, and we only pulled it off due to a "nothing left to lose" mentality in our final conversation with her before the Testament. Typical interaction with her prior to that had us either on eggshells and usually hacking her off anyway, or extending an olive branch and her scorning it. It's not surprising the poor first impression can colored some anon's long term perceptions.

Something you've Forgotten is that Forgettings are "supposed" to be optional. They certainly don't feel like it, but supposedly we could have gone through the whole quest without getting one, without horribly dying or failing. Somehow.

For me, the things I find the most appealing is the interesting complex characters and most importantly there is always a real, honest risk of failure. We fail often, but that makes the victories all the sweeter. The natural extension of this is the cause and effect of our actions, which is also very satisfying.

>Court of Swords
It stole Lamplighter from us, and for that I can never forgive it. Didn't like the premise either. Shame, I love the QM's style.
>Panzermagd
Wow. Aren't there like three of us, total?


I'm seeing an implication this isn't the first such review you've written.

>>3454765
Do you ever wonder if Irue is an apparition herself like Shadowrue who took over the originals life during the assassination and that's why she can't do things like weild weapons and is kinda autistic and was kept from developing properly and has Asche following her and can use the bracelet?

>>3455001
The weapon wielding issue we've traced to the bracelet. Asche has a complex around our sister, and I'm reasonably sure is only hanging around us due to an order/favor/request on behalf of her. the developmental issues is due to Aunt wanting her family to become the main branch, and so tried to screw us over as much as possible without being overt about it. Namely, sticking us in the middle of nowhere, with only 1 other non-communicative person, and nothing to pass the time but books. The autism is all us anons. Still, it's come up before. I don't think she's an apparition, but not-human isn't out of the question.

>>3455001
Oh, and the we've never let anyone else try the bracelet. But Rue was only give it the first day of the quest. Sometimes I wonder if we're in the bracelet.

>>3455119
Criticize all you like, but I love the wonderful mysteries of this quest.

Deepest lore for sure.

seriously though yes. Also if Luna can read unspoilered text.

>>3453744
>>3453838
>>3454230
>>3454240
>>3454595
Just Marchovic! About time he pulled his weight, isn't it?

>>3453885
We'll go with Marchovic!

A bit later than I expected, but the vote's pretty clear! Writing!

My intention is not to derail this thread by rambling about my review so I can only suggest we discuss it on the /qtg/ unless it doesn't bother Riz.

>>3454226
About the write-in, what stuck to me was less the fact that we berated a child (who does sound like an adult) and more that it came to the point where we felt it was necessary. That she is 10(?) years old is no the point, what is however is that we were "led astray" to the point of shutting her down.
I have mentioned that Irue doesn't know much about the world but I have also mentioned that not many characters forward us information that could be used to avoid this kind of situation. Add to this that we've never had much down time to actually socialise/research stuff outside of our current interests and I'm not surprised we're almost walking blind.
I also did mention that what change is present is long lasting and often spans multiple threads.
About "fast-travelling"... horses? Carriages? All I'm saying is that if we didn't blow all our money making a fire-sandwich we'd probably have been able to afford a basic necessity that I'm still convinced we should have from the very start. What if Irue had been sick, Asche was gonna carry her to Carona?

>>3454765
All I'm saying is that the world appears standard at first before revealing its more intriguing (and original) properties. Perhaps it didn't show properly in my review in which case I'm sorry for it.
About a horse or carriage, I'm not so convinced. Seeing as Asche already does all the chores in the house, I'm not convinced she couldn't add this to her list and still manage to "hang" with Irue. Plus there NEEDS to be a way to communicateur fast with the outside world, even a pigeon or something like that.
About the Forgettings, I had indeed forgotten that they are "optional" but I share the same doubts.

If you're wondering about my two earlier review (Court of Swords and Panzermagd ) the I invite you to check out the list of review available on the /qtg/ as they have been indexed there.

>>3455756
>My intention is not to derail this thread by rambling about my review
I don't think you can really derail a quest by talking about the quest, and there's plenty of time between updates/votes where nothing is happening, so by all means have fun.

"Marchovic, you're the most suited for this kind of thing, aren't you?" You turned to the Shade Representative with an expectanctly arched brow. He perked up, pointing with some faux innocence to himself with all the theatrical drama of an opera. "You were planning to do this alone anyway, so this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Oh blondie, you really do want to spend time with me!"

"I'm staying here." You return flatly.

"Oh." His over-emotive and flamboyantly joking posture slipped away with a single syllable. "Well then yeah, it'll be easy enough. What are you hoping to find?"

"I don't know yet." An unhelpful advisory, but you didn't see a reason to posture here. "There's something queer going on that I'm missing. If it were just the layout then I could figure it out myself, but I need more information from the people themselves. How do Sylv and the slavers fit into this? What's keeping these mercenaries operating here?" You twirl your hand summarily in a dismissive fashion. "Find out what you can and we'll go from there. Anything you think is helpful."

"Not much to go on, but I'll take a walk and see what comes up." he shrugged. "I really should have words with whoever put you in charge though, sending me off all on my own like this." The river softly trickled by in the dearth of retort that ensued, earning the Shade Representative little more than an encore of silent and tired faces. "Too lame?"

"Just..." You sigh. "Go."

He was off and whistling a merry tune to himself despite the care taken to stay undetected on the way here. You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying, not for the first time, to get some kind of handle on Marchovic. This wasn't who he'd been the night he invited you. Was it just another side of him? Was it on purpose? Most of the questions you had regarding him jumbled together into a singularly frustrated 'Why?' you were an ever perilous inch away from strangling him with, to say nothing of the lascivious streak which ran amok over everyone from Raid to you. Mim was a curious exemption, but you think even Gehr had been subjected to the sharktoothed man's suggestive aggression at some point.

...And now that he was gone it was quiet, and that was somehow just as irritating.

"That leaves it to us to set camp." Gehr's low voice bridged the gap, his clothes emitting a muffled rustle as he wiped his hands along them and chuckled. "New experiences even at my age, how wonderful."

"Never set camp before, old man?" Raid's irreverence carried along unabashedly.

"Camp, yes. But I wager there's a difference between one to ward off beasts and one to hide from nosey interlopers." The elder hunter eyed Raid speculatively, "A demihuman would know more about that, hm?"

"Sure you trust me to not screw you over?" The sandy haired kid shot back with a taunting grin... Yet found no purchase from his mark when Gehr simply snorted.

"I'm not naive, child. Play your game after the camp is made."

You watched on uninvolved, deigning to stay that way unless you needed to intervene... But in the end their conversation merely fizzled, leaving more attention on Raid than he seemed happy with as he forced a smile over the minor tells of frustration he'd been getting less and less capable of concealing as the trip wore on. Moments stretched on, likely more than strictly necessary, as he regathered himself and looked around.

"We're in a bad spot." He concluded with a frown, turning back to the rest of you. "It's not the worst, but when people make camp on a river they're more vigilant of what's upstream of them than most other directions."

"You couldn't tell us that when we planned to move up here?" You returned a testy sigh.

"There's perks to being upstream." He shrugged, "avoiding notice isn't one of them, but if you wanted to use the river to get in then it's easier than trying to swim upstream."

"So what would you have us do?" Gehr rumbled, "I could set traps on the parameter to give us warning, but once we're found it's only a matter of time."

"And it's too late to try and go downstream." You add pensively. "...Not that we want to, exactly. We could go further upstream to get out of their range?"

"More walking?" Mim blanches from her spot on the ground, pulling herself up to join the conversation. "Can't we just hide somewhere here? Irue can tell if someone's coming anyway."

"I doubt you could hide in a wrapped bag." Raid sniped, "But if we ford the river then we'd be on better ground."

"Don't think I've ever heard an option like that suggested so casually." Gehr grunted, glancing over to the tranquil flowing waters with a tangible measure of reluctance. "Even if it looks calm, it's never a good idea to underestimate a river."

"That's why we'd do it." Raid's fangs peeked out from behind his smirking expression. "It's a natural barrier, people tend to let their guard down when they feel there's something protecting them. We'll have less to worry about on the other side, and probably an easier time spying on them from the far shore."

"If we can get across." You note, casting a doubtful glance towards the little Luna Adept. "Anything easier?"

"...Well." He crossed his arms, "If you can't swim there might be some grottos along the river side. If the overhang is deep enough we could hide underneath it, but it won't be pretty."

"I can swim just fine."

"I can't." Mim piped up shyly.

You blinked, curling your fingers against your chin in thought. You probably had plenty of time until Marchovic returned to situate yourself however you wanted, but ultimately that amounted to a waiting game... And there was only so much you could do with a camp when you wanted to stay unnoticed.

"May be we don't need a camp." Gehr ventured. "There aren't many of us. If our little feyliege here can help us avoid patrols, there's no reason we can't keep moving around them."

"How long do you think we can keep up something like that?" Raid shook his head doubtfully, "If we slip up, it's over."

"Well that depends." Gehr scratched at his aged stubble, turning to you for answers. "How long do you reckon we'll be at this? If it ain't long, could give us an opportunity to get to know the place better."

"I don't wanna walk more..."

>Set camp across the river, it's the safest place.
>Search for a grotto nearby
>Keep moving, you weren't planning to make a week out of this.
>Other? (write-in)

>>3455943
>Use the Web to find a shallow ford. Tell Gher to kick us in the shin in half an hour so we don't lose ourselves
>If we find a place where Mim can cross on foot, ford the river. Otherwise look for a grotto.
>The Web can probably look for both a ford and any grottoes at the same time btw.

>>3455943
>>Search for a grotto nearby

>>3455943
Judging by Irue's reaction the atelier doesn't reach this far I guess? Then lets go with Raid's suggestion and cross the river. I'm wary of Gher's warning but we don't have to use the web for something this trivial. Mim would probably know if there's a shallow point nearby, we should also ask her to run simulations or whatever to figure out the best approach and make sure we don't drown.
>Set camp across the river, it's the safest place

>>3455954
The web is the most through, but also takes the longest. It wouldn't surprise me if that simple search took several hours. And indulging too often will start warping our mind again.
Once we set up camp, we can start laying the groundwork for a returnable Web so we can keep an eye out without taking forever to set up.

>>3455943
Do we have any rope?

We brought rope, right?

Because then the strongest swimmer can cross and tie the rope off on both ends.

Alternatively we can tie people together to cross the river, Raid to Mim.

>>3455943
>>Search for a grotto nearby
Crossing the river means needing to cross it again when we want to actually do anything.

>>3455943
>Search for a grotto nearby

>>3453838
I like Valen Quest because all the girls sound like they could be pushed over really easily. I don't know why, but I like the idea of pushing over girls these days. There isn't even the thought of sexual or further physical violence after the fact. Just the pushing is enough.
Asche seems like the most pushable, so I guess I'd choose her. I'd love to feel her delicate figure give only the slightest resistance against the force of my arms before disconnecting from me entirely and crashing to the ground with a light thud.

>>3457364
wat

Valen seems to possess a surprising attractiveness to weird trolls.

Vote will be closed when I get back later tonight! A lot of things happened in sequence which have torpedoed my schedule and it's probably gonna be a long, miserable day.

>>3455954
The web is the answer to all problems! All of them.

>>3455956
>>3457102
>>3457261
Grotto is probably better than crossing the river.

>>3456010
>>3456733
No matter how funny it would be to make Raid tote Mim across a river.

Writing! Exhausted and worn down from the day, but we can still get something done tonight.

>>3459000
We need to shock Raid at some point. Not just something like the Shade apparition, but doing something impossible that he understands.

We should sleep beside Marchovic tonight in preparation for using the web.

He's pretty much the ideal candidate for this sort of thing, being a Shade Adept and all. Also we would be able to get a sense of how far we can trust him, really. Also he would get to learn about us.

Of course we'd have to warn him about the vulnerability of the situation, but how can a shade adept turn down that kind of challenge?

He also seems like he would get a kick out of, let's not say opposing but instead correcting the Mana being all wack about the human race.

>>3459131
We've been over this many times. No.There are multiple reasons to not sleep with most anyone, but the most important is our knowledge of Dryad. Luna did the deed, but it was done with the encouragement and backing of all the rest of the Mana. We can't sleep with any of the Adepts without risking their life and sanity. And after the Mana would be wondering how their adept came about this knowledge, and will go looking to seal that leak.
The other big issue is the Web is slow, difficult, and addictive. It would take time to train someone how to use it, and then we'll have a junkie who can only get their supply through us. Not really something we want to put anyone we care about through.

"I don't think we're in good shape to cross the river that easily." You finally decide against that. You didn't doubt that Raid had a point, but your team was ill suited for crossing rivers at a whim, and you said as much.

"If it's a matter of difficulty, I do have a rope we might leverage for an easier time of it." Gehr supplied, "The demihuman is like as not our strongest swimmer, he could secure one end on the far side for us."

"What if he can't make it?" You retort, "If we make a commotion trying to fish him out we're in trouble."

"I can swim just fine." The demihuman in question complained, "I'm not weak like the rest of you."

"..." You let the matter hang for a second, well aware that Gehr's silence left the decision ultimately up to you. Finally you nod, "Alright, you've probably done this plenty before. Can you get us across?"

"Yeah!" He snorted, "Probably."

"...Probably?"

"His sister always carried him over." Mim informed the clearing impishly, leaving you at loss for how to respond. Looking to Raid...

"Well at least I know how to swim."

...Confirmed that Mim had abused her revelatory grace under Luna to violate his privacy. "Let's not risk it then." An answer you knew irritated him, but you hadn't invited him along to use the trip as an opportunity to prove himself. "What about the grottos then? Are you sure we can find one that easily?"

"Maybe not a proper cavern, but it wouldn't be unusual to find an overhang along the riverside." The elder hunter mused, eyeing you with a speculative frown. "Though I'm in agreement with the demihuman feyliege, I don't think you'll like it."

"How bad could it be?" You'd been through two Ateliers and over a month's worth of forestry at this point. Worst case scenario you get a little wet.

"I hate this." You admit sullenly, making a fantastic show of not chucking Raid's snickering arse into the river as you sat curled in the mud. There was so much mud. There was mud above you. Mud where you were sitting. Mud on the roots around you. And all of this would be fine, but... "There's so much mud in my hair." You mewled pitifully, glaring past your curled knees with a distant, sulking fury.

"Did you expect wood floors?" Raid stifled his laughter under the overhang. You didn't respond, as the only retort immediately on your mind was to chuck a handful of the river muck at his face and getting into a petty scuffle here would ruin the whole point of hiding. Besides, you'd already accidentally elbowed him earlier for sitting on your hair.

It was an accident primarily because it occurred before you'd thought about it. Any form of regret over the event was conspicuously absent at the moment, and if anything you found yourself wishing you'd done it harder.

"Well, what now?" You grumped at Raid despite his tauntings, "We just wait until Marchovic finds his way back to Gehr and meets us here?"

"Waiting's the easy job." The sandy haired demihuman smirked back, whole body still dripping with river water. He made himself at home curled against the outter most lip of the overhang, sinking almost casually into the semi-flooded soil as he reclined into the wall. "Course if you're bored you could start digging like the Shrine brat."

You favored him with a dull glower, settling your chin against your knees to wile away the rest of the day feeling about as soggy inside as you did outside. Droplets of water ran down your tucked back hair, passively infuriating you as it hung just in the corner of your eye, heavier, further, and of all things ticklishly before finally breaking free to plop onto the already drenched sleeves below... Before its successor took its place not a moment later. A generational chain of mindless little inconveniences dancing along the nerve already worn raw from impending thoughts of your hair clumping together after the mud dried.

At least Mim was entertained. The muffled shoveling of dirt accentuated the river's gentle trickle as minutes turned to hours in this filthy cover, and when boredom took its toll you'd glance back to find the little Luna Adept digging her fingers into the black soil and cradling it into childish piles to either side. She was filthy, far more so than you... And perhaps more so even than Raid, who had seemingly taken his own wisdom seriously and dozed off at the river's edge.

You had time. Lots and lots of time.

>Meditate (How?)
>Follow Raid's lead and nap (skip ahead)
>You were miserable so Raid should be too (What do you want to bother him over?)
>Pester Mim.
>Other? (write-in)

>>3459226
I'm a little tempted to meditate to Shade as a way of trying to make ourselves at least a little sneakier, but last time we meditated on Shade didn't exactly go so well. Would Rue be willing to put the bracelet in a pocket or something so we don't summon an Apparition?

If not,
>Pester Mim
We brought her out here in a misguided effort to bond or something. Let's make the best of it. Us unathletic small-frame girls can commiserate together, or we can at least figure out what on earth she's doing over there.


You know, if we're soaked already, dipping in the river would wash the mud out.

>>3459243
If you'd like to remove the bracelet to try meditating you're welcome to, but Irue's had a decade or so of effort in that direction with nothing to show for it already.

Alright going to die here for now and hope the rest of this week shapes up.

>>3459226
>Pester Mim
Ask about Artemis

>>3459226
>Prester Mim

>>3459226
>You were miserable so Raid should be too (What do you want to bother him over?)

Why do Demihumans breed? Their offspring won't be faithful or loyal or loving to them, seems like a general waste of effort and energy.

>>3459226
>Pester Mim.
Hypothetically, what would be the best way to go about doing something we don't want her to think about? Like, what would be easiest on Mim?

I would also like to talk to Mim about the diary relic, maybe see we could spitball some ideas with her, but I realise this could be controversial. What do you guys think?

>>3459354
They probably just like to fuck.

>>3459262
I don't really expect anything to happen, just thought that maybe getting into the right mindset might help a tiny bit.


>>3459372
>What do you guys think?
Using the Diary of Reflections to make ourselves look like someone for infiltration only covers half the issue. Without knowing anything going on we could easily get tripped up when someone tries to actually talks to us.

It would also mean Raid becomes aware we have a powerful artifact capable of making you look like someone else. That is just asking for him to steal at some point, or sell that little tidbit later to someone else.

>>3459414
I agree with your first point, it's part of the reason I'd like to get Mim's thoughts on it. We don't have to involve Raid at all, we could take the discussion elsewhere and if we ask Mim to keep aware of him he wouldn't be able to overhear us undiscovered.

>>3459372
Abortificants exist you know.

I want to know more about the motivations and beliefs of Demihumans, some they might not even know themselves. It's a step towards controlling them, or even changing their nature to be more like Kara.

Otherwise our only option is to completely dominate them. We don't have the resources to do so directly other than using the Bracelet and snipping off parts of our soul.

An indirect method would be to do crazy and overpowering acts so that they wouldn't be able to predict what we might do, allowing us to threaten that we might do ANYTHING.

Otherwise they'll start to question why we don't keep using Apparitions to control them.

Part of me really wants to try communal meditation on Shade with Marchovic and Raid. Us using the bracelet to link us all, Marchovic providing his deeper knowledge and understanding, and Raid being a blank canvass and demihuman to see if we can impress an understanding or even force a connection on him.

>>3460011
>>3459372
Note that I feel it would be far too risky to do so without Marchovic, since Kara cares for her tribe and Raid most of all.

Maybe it would be best to use another Demihuman.

>>3459226
Is it odd that Marchovic referred to Raid as a Feyling?

Like.

Do Demihumans have some relation to the Fae?

>>3460024
That was the knight, not Raid.

>>3460584
> The elder hunter mused, eyeing you with a speculative frown. "Though I'm in agreement with the demihuman feyliege, I don't think you'll like it."

Sorry, why did the Knight call Raid a feyliege?

>>3460650
it is most probably an error on riz' part. no need to overthink it..

>>3460650
>>3460659
The knights were there during the Second Binge, and were at least somewhat aware of sometime fey-ish going on. At that point we weren't even aware of Dryad, never mind it's connection to the Fey. This isn't the first knight to call us that.

>>3460650
He didn't, he was calling Irue feyliege. I think Riz was missing a comma here or something.

>>3459243
>>3459318
>>3459344
>>3459372
Pestering Mim! Anything to distract us.

>>3459354
Raid will share our misery.

Writing!
---

>>3460024
As the others noted, it was Gehr referring to you. He is one of the first knights besides Fen you've spent any prolonged time with, but there's an implication that quite a few of them refer to you - in varying degrees of humour to legitimacy -as feyliege.

You thought at first to interrupt Raid's nap and share your discomfort; Drag the younger demihuman into a conversation whether he liked it or not and siphon off even a portion of his contentedness. Such things were entertained only briefly, ultimately being dismissed after realizing you were seriously contemplating asking him why demihumans breed. Setting aside the explanation of what idle curiosities had given rise to that particular inquiry, you suspected badgering Raid over it would result in being asked why humans breed, or if he were feeling particularly ornery, having your own interests questioned in turn. In a more patient mood you may have gone ahead anyway, but he might actually win that exchange as you were now and that would only spoil your mood further.

So instead you gathered your hair with as much dignity as you possessed and crawled back towards Mim to pester her. "What's-" You pause, looking over the tiny hole she'd excavated. It was just enough to fit her up to her shoulders, which is precisely where she currently was. Thinking better of asking what she was doing, you changed to a more pressing question. "Find something interesting?"

"Yes!"

It took a moment for the little Luna Adept to extricate herself from the hole, clutching a smudged rock proudly in the palm of her hand for you to see. Holding it up to what little light reflected into the overhang from the river, you shift it back and forth trying to discern what - exactly- you were holding. Geology was not a focus of your studies, though you would be lying if you said your attempts to gain Gnome's favour hadn't left you with a passing familiarity all the same. Yet even so, the elements-worn surface before you bore no specific resemblance to any notable material. Grime clung to it, hardened into rough edges which distorted and obscured the true form of whatever fragmented crystalline surface lay beneath. In truth you couldn't readily tell where the grime ended and the coloreless gem began as they bled into each other. Glancing from the rock to the smug expression Mim wore, the corner of your lips quirked into a smile despite yourself.

"Go on," Mim prodded, "Ask me what it is!"

"Alright." Playing her game was more educational than Raid's at any rate, "What is it?"

"A rock." She paused, smiling wider - A pause you realized with some amusement may have been more difficult for her to endure than you, given how eager she was to share her knowledge. "But! But it's not just any rock! This one's been chipped off something. It's not from around here."

"So where's it from?" You turned it over in your hand, feeling your attention being pulled away as some half-remembered memory nagged for attention.

"Further north most likely. North east, specifically. You don't find a lot of those in La'Fiel, but a couple decades ago East Heaven unearthed a vein of a curious material like this which was supposedly hyper conductive to mana. For all intents and purposes the Shrine has condemned research into it and is responsible for confiscating whatever raw material makes its way into a country's borders." Mim's gaze lingered on it wistfully, "Not that it happens very often, I guess. East Heaven's monarchy issued a decree to hoard it as a precious national resource, so whatever we find tends to come from smugglers."

"So this is your jurisdiction, huh?" wine red eyes narrowed in thought while looking over the little shard of crystal.

"Nn." Mim shook her head, dislodging a small clod of dirt precariously balanced atop. "The Luna Dominion isn't allowed to interact with it much since Artemis split from the Shrine. I mean even before then we technically weren't, but there were apparently a lot of strong voices in my Dominion calling for intellectual access and study. It's always been the Undine Dominion in charge of handling things like this though, and who knows what they do with it."

"...You don't?" You turn the fragment back over, dropping it into Mim's out stretched hand.

She shook her head while tugging a corner of her shirt free to try and polish the dirty thing. "Undine is the keeper of secrets, owner and holder of everything Luna has given it to be lost and forgotten." She repeated a familiar statement to you, and one you'd not thought heavily on the implications of. "Prying into their affairs is dangerous."

"Wish you thought my affairs were that dangerous." You snarked, only to receive a flat and unamused glare back from your erstwhile friend.

"It's not that we purposefully don't, we can't. Undine interferes."

You had nothing to say to that. As well studied as you were, there was a limit to your understanding of an Adept's life which came from lacking that essential connection.

"So if Luna gave it to Undine, why was the Luna Dominion trying to get access in the first place?"

"I read that the primary argument was that Luna hadn't given it to Undine, but I wasn't around back then." She offered a subdued and distracted recollection, "If that was true then it fell into worldly affairs, which is a lot more complicated because the Dominions don't always get along..."

"No one ever thought to meditate over it?"

"Plenty did." Mim shrugged, falling quiet for the time it took to run her fingers over the fragment one last time. "I don't think there was an answer."

"How does that work in East Heaven?" You change the subject to something else that bothered you. "Shouldn't the Shrine be confiscating East Heaven's supply as well?"

"Yeah, probably." Mim admitted, pocketing the crystal shard. "If it were that simple they'd definitely do it, but it's not. The Shrine functions as a sovereign entity separate from nations, right?" - A rhetorical question, one whose answer you both knew by heart by now - "We stay out of their business as a neutral observer in exchange for leniency in operation irrespective of borders. The Shrine is first and foremost a place for Adepts and a place for spiritual guidance. We can't exactly make demands."

A frown tugged away on your lips even as your attention wandered further down some spiraling chain of partially recalled details. "The decree was where they stood."

"Mhmm." Mim nodded along as if it didn't concern her. As isolated as she'd been in her life, that may have even been true despite her position. "The Shrine doesn't have to approve, but retaliating over a national matter endangers the position we're in internationally."

"I thought East Heaven would be pretty heavily under the Shrine's influence." You probed curiously, "Everything I've read mentioned the potency of mana density there, and the peculiar strength of their Adepts."

"It'd be nice if that were true." Mim scuffed the dirt at her shoe with a pout. "Do you know much about Teranford's royal line?"

You hesitated. "...Less than I probably should."

"Well their royal family was determined and enforced primarily through Salamander's favor, which they believed to be hereditary and implicit approval from the Mana of their right to govern. I could tell you how many powerful Salamander Adepts came from the southern sands, but it'd be winter before I stopped."

"Noted." You didn't want to try and remember a season long list of names.

"The Shrine had nothing to do with that." Mim continued lightly, seemingly starting to enjoy having someone to enjoy having someone listening voluntarily for once. "We seek out Adepts and encourage their affiliation with us because we can help protect them from exploitation and cultivate their affinity with their Mana. It's a matter of both personal and public safety see? Especially since, historically speaking, when Adepts clash it's the less loved who suffer. Even the most novice Adepts are like to create casualties clumsily pleading for their Mana's intervention, and the more skilled they become the more dangerous they are. You probably already know that, though." She gave you a dirty look, "That Wisp Adept who put down the Banshee is employed by House Valen after all."

"Another political divide." You intone with some measure of understanding, letting her words sink in. "But the Shrine acts as a check against the overt deployment of Adepts, don't they?"

"Er..." Mim murmured reluctantly. "Well... Yes and no? It's an informal armistice based on implied threat." She began her explanation with an uncomfortable sigh. "The Shrine was founded for a lot of things, and one of the things we wanted - Still want - to stop is the abuse of our Mana's affection. It's a gift and privilege to be loved as we are by them, but to people not favored, that love just looks like power. Sometimes even when you are favored it's hard to look past the abilities it grants." She shuffled awkwardly, a note of bitterness creeping into her voice. It was squashed mercilessly moments later as she took a breath to collect herself. "Ultimately though it's not fair. Those the Mana love can only ever consistently be opposed by others the Mana love, so the Shrine acts as an implicit threat of intervention against a party abusing the participation of an Adept in order tip the balance against the violator."

"I can't imagine having to fight Alouette." You admitted distantly. Even after everything you'd been through to this point, thinking of how you would survive a confrontation with a Wisp Adept of her level brought you up short, much less how you could win. An uncomfortably relevant and foreboding feeling, considering the Wisp Adept you were hunting that you had yet to have a resolution for.

"It's sorta like that. The strength of the Adepts in East Heaven actually works as a detriment to our position there." Mim concluded with a nod. "A handful of Adepts in La'Fiel could be considered a trump card to a noble family, but they still have to respect the Shrine. With East Heaven, the density and affection showered on them would necessitate a... Significant investment to meaningfully oppose. The royal family of East Heaven has always heavily included Adepts in their rulership and regime. It's no coincidence that the strongest Saint in the Shrine was their queen, you know?"

>Ask something else (what?)
>That's enough for now, get busy with something else. (What?)
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

File: 1434721395391.jpg (53 KB, 640x383)

53 KB JPG

>9 hours later

>>3461999
>Forgetting

There's a few things that attract attention. First, "the strongest Saint in the Shrine was their queen". Did Mint have a formal position in the Shrine? If so, how does this combine with the separation between the Shrine and states?
Second, the catastrophe that caused Dryad's corruption occured in East Heaven (and likely involved Mint)
Third, the fact that Artemis wanted to study the crystals makes me think they might be linked to the corruption.
Fourth, we know Artemis entered La'Fiel. Could it be this piece of rock was dropped by a member? Or maybe they came to get a supply of this rock from smugglers?


>Why did the Shrine condemn the research into this rock?
>Who do the smugglers sell it to in La'Fiel if the Shrine doesn't buy it?
>Ask more about Artemis. What caused the split, what are they up to in their city?

File: 1458581963137.png (1.17 MB, 1488x1137)

1.17 MB PNG

Realized belated that Forgetting windows are a full day long now and that I accidentally screwed myself out of the resolve to be productive today.

Help, I can't stop fucking up.

>>3462212
Isn't it sad, Sacchin?

>>3461999
>>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
The rocks. Why would a material be conductive to all Mana types? Maybe if all natural Mana had been removed? That disaster we talked to the Luna adepts about in Dryad's Altier, didn't that suck the Mana out of the place?

>>3462212
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmJ5Tf6G0FQ

>>3462766
I wonder if they have a relation to Relics. Maybe they're a mass-produced Relic.

What do we know about Relic production?

File: 13641209_f520.jpg (31 KB, 520x287)

31 KB JPG

>>3463060
Relics are a distillation of the mental hangups of an aeon, they only appear once an aeon is no longer present in the atelier. We learned a lot of the properties of the stuff that relics are made of (I think they're called fragments?) by talking with Elly and the luna adept in the Dryad arc but I can't recall them at the minute, I'd need to reread it.

Unrelated but rereading over those threads has stirred up some thoughts. Riz has been pretty open about how Dryads imprisonment has lowered the human birthrate and the fertility of the land, right? And the effect gets more pronounced as you get further away from Dryads atelier/throne, it makes sense since Dryad is the literal font of life in this world and it's probably something the luna dominion would consider when they resolved to seal it. Sure enough the adept outright stated they had a plan for this -

>"Tomb. Seal. Prison. It all amounts to the same outcome." The man allowed, "Dryad as a Mana represents life itself. It boggles the mind to consider the concept of 'death' ever applying to something like that... So while it cannot die, perhaps it may eternally lie?" He looked up contemplatively, "A Mana's sentience isn't required for its purpose to be fulfilled, or so we have come to suspect from our studies. There is a distinction which can be made between the near arcane personality displayed by the Mana, and their effects on the land. I believe that, by working together, we may consign Dryad's mind to a coma, while its body continues to nourish the land and those who live in it... And, perhaps, one day we may even learn to completely separate the two."

They succeeded. He's talking about that thing that ate our house, the nymph tree. The refugees that invaded Rinnier's homeland used this plant to turn her shitty desert country into something pretty lush with vegetation, a font of life. When we met one of these foreigners on the road to our Aunt's estate he mistook Raid as our brother and said this -

>"Didn't expect to see siblings out this far!"

Implying that his homeland is decently fertile in comparison to other places. The homeland that these miracle trees came from. We brought a clipping of the nymph wood into the fae woods and Dryad even commented on it -

>'You came back.'
>'With unwanted company.'
>'A foul scent.'
>'This lost shell.'
>'Memories tamed?'
>'ulterior motives.'

>TLDR
So yeah, I think the nymphs wood is pretty much Dryads lobotomised "body", separated from its imprisoned and corrupted mind in order to stave off the atrophy of the setting. That's why Dryad doesn't like the nymph tree despite them clearly sharing a connection, it's a packaged version of itself, prepared by the sibling that orchestrated Dryads "murder". Am I on to something, you think? in b4 everyone already knows this

>>3463439
That's an excellent summary.

And we shouldn't forget, East Heaven closed their borders as soon as this happened. What if they weren't worried about someone getting in, but some THING getting out?

Like maybe Nymph Trees?

East Heaven IS suspiciously dense in Mana.

The rocks have had all their mana taken out. Dryad had part of her Mana taken out.

>>3463439
That's an interesting idea. The issues I see with it are the Altier didn't have any mention of a body, nor (as far as we're aware) none of the other Mana have "mortal" bodies. And how did the invaders get their hands on the body and turn it to their own ends?

File: submit human.gif (108 KB, 300x330)

108 KB GIF

>>3461999
>Am I forgetting something?

>"I don't know what you're already aware of, but the fragments we located in the Dead Zone were... Peculiar. They continued to exist, when all else had been reduced to a sea of empty ash. Specifically speaking, it's almost as if they aren't part of our world." He paused at your face, raising his hand to begin lecturing once more. "...Er, Let me rephrase. Our world is created by the Eight Mana. They are the Pillars which support everything. This is common knowledge, of course. The Dead Zones are proof of what would happen if the Mana were ever to abandon us - An absolute desolation."

>"...But not the fragments." You supply pointedly.

>"Correct. Faced with that, we are forced to look at several possibilities. One being that, perhaps there is a ninth Mana we were previously unaware of- "
-
>"Succinctly speaking, it's almost as if they're empty." Elly's brother answered after a moment's thought. "Or perhaps... Malleable, would be a better term? Their nature will shift to accommodate whatever Mana is put into concentrated contact with their surface. Otherwise, it showed a remarkable tendency to return to its original, fragmented state whenever damaged."
-
>"What do these fragments look like, exactly?"

>"In the state we found them in, they almost resembled shards of crystal."
-
>Grime clung to it, hardened into rough edges which distorted and obscured the true form of whatever fragmented crystalline surface lay beneath.

It's a fragment, the stuff that relics are made from.

> "From where I'm standing though, your own Dominion is at the greatest risk of being contaminated. I doubt you're planning on this seal being public knowledge, but if the Ĺ̸̸̀ư̢ņ̵͟a͟ ͟Ḑ͟ơ͠͝͡ḿ̶̨͞i̸̕ņ͜͠i̧̡̡o̸ǹ̢͜ is responsible for finding an eventual solution, then what stops it from spreading again through the researchers?"

>"I must admit, Ser Valen, I didn't expect many of these questions from you." Elly's brother eyed you appraisingly. "The division that has been put in charge of handling the ongoing research has already been designed and implemented. Rather than staying among the rest of us, we believe the best option in a case like this is isolation. As such, the Ḑ̧̧̡o̵̡͞ḿ̴͠i͞n͢͢į̴̀̀̕ó͟͝ń ͜o̸̢͜f̧ ̀́͜͠͝L̴̷͢͡ù̧͘͟n̵͢͠á̴͘͡͞ has secured a study of sorts in the distant west."

>"Forgive me if I doubt the wholesome use of a secret cabal of Adepts researching a contamination that already warranted one purge." You deadpan flatly, crimson eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I suppose the fragments you retrieved from the Dead Zone will be held there as well, then?"

>"...Naturally."

This also fits with what Mim said about how luna adepts aren't allowed to interact with the magic rocks ever since artemis split from the shrine.

>>3464721
You're an excellent human being, anon, and have my admiration.

>>3464721
I'd Forgotten they had found anything but ash in the Dead Zones, I was thinking they might have created them from the ash or something. Good job, anon. It's good to see the longer Forgetting windows helping.

>the stuff that relics are made from.
I don't know if that strictly follows, but I remember speculation at the time suggesting Mint had somehow been involved, and that the Dead Zone was the result of the destruction of an Atelier. If so, the fragments could be bits of the Atelier itself, if it contained Relic(s) they could be bits of them still disappointed there weren't any relics in Dryad's, or if the Aeon itself was still there at the time they could be chunks of it.

>>3464771
Or if they're using Homunculi to make controllable Aeons/Ateliers.

>>3462212
Is Asche like a Fox Wife, and if we directly ask her if she is and always was a Human being she'll freak out and run away forever?

>>3464859
That seems like a stretch. From what we've seen and know, becoming an Aeon is a deeply unique and slow process. Even if they can create Homunculi, and they have some way to force them to be Favored, I seriously doubt it's that simple.
>>3464865
Based on past experience in trying to get secret blood out of that particular stone, she'd just ignore our wild accusation. I doubt evidence would help either. Only way we'd get anything out of her is forcing her with some sort of leverage, same as we had to with the bracelet info.

>>3464771
>I don't know if that strictly follows,

Irue picked up the suspicion that relics are made of fragments as the result of someone getting the a forgetting so I'm inclined towards tentatively believing it until we learn more. You're right to be skeptical though, our bracelet doesn't fit into idea since it can work with any mana instead of just one. We don't have the full picture, it's just a useful piece of speculation for now.

>Mint had somehow been involved, and that the Dead Zone was the result of the destruction of an Atelier.

Yeah, I think that's right. There was some stuff that supported that theory when I was rereading, there was mention of some kind of especially fucked up atelier in the dead zone that the fragments came from, Mint was investigating the dead zone and the lunafags found her bracelet there afterwards. The luna adept also said the dead zones were a result of removing a mana from an area? I don't know how that fits in.

>"Ah... Yes. Yes, you're absolutely right, I̷̴̶̡r̵̷̡̕͡ú̢͝e̷̷̕." He smiled broadly at your hesitation, "Yes, you're certainly a scholar. The ramifications of removing a Mana, we know them well. The Dead Zones they result in... Those are absolutely unacceptable. As someone who was there, I'm sure we can both agree that abominations like that can never be suffered to exist."

>>3464910
>Irue picked up the suspicion that relics are made of fragments as the result of someone getting the a forgetting
Do you remember when that was? I don't Remember it, but it's been a while.
>our bracelet doesn't fit into idea since it can work with any mana instead of just one.
I've long suspected the bracelet isn't a Relic in the typical sense, due to the stuff it lets us do and it's neutrality of Mana preference, but that may be lost to time.

>>3464947
Sure, it'll be somewhere in here.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1897434/#p1906318

Window closed! I have been working towards fixing my sleep schedule, so here's hoping. Gimme a bit to look through most of these.

>>3464957
Thanks.

I did find this
>Experiments with Wisp Adepts in the Dead Zones resulted in them describing it as their Mana washing over the fragment. Despite holding no Mana of its own, it shows no signs of being capable of holding anything. Instead, it changes its own nature to reflect Mana that interacts with it, almost like a mirror
which is different from what Mim said this thing does. She said they were conductive to Mana. Either she didn't quite understand how they worked or something else is going on.

also this
>"How did you manage to translate the fragments?"
>"We recognized a few of them as being in close resemblance to the script on some artifacts the Dominion had recovered from some ruins in the Northern Wastes
I don't suppose this crystal we have here has anything written on it?

File: 1489356952884.png (187 KB, 401x295)

187 KB PNG

>>3465136
Don't leave me hanging Riz, did we get the forgetting or what?

>>3462069
>Did Mint have a formal position in the Shrine?
Yes and No. She was elevated to sainthood posthumously as was noted a while back in the Valen Archives, and it's implied that she and the Shrine actually had an adversial relationship before that due to her reckless Atelier Conquering predilections. However, due to her perceived affluence with the Mana (due to her exploitation of the bracelet), they were put into a difficult public position where not acknowledging her as a Saint would have caused a lot of unrest.

Also making note to check this post for the questions at the end.

>>3463439
This has nothing to do with the current Forgetting. But you're correct!

>>3464865
You already voted for her to run away forever, anon!

>>3465293
>Conductive potential and storage capacity
I've stalled on how to respond to this for an hour now. Like I could not respond to it and make up an excuse later, but I'm legitimately not sure if I'm stupid and used the word wrong or if there's a misunderstanding that needs finer clarification regarding its interaction, and in the latter case, I'm similarly unsure whether I should handle that OOC for brevity's sake or figure it out later because it's actually something Mim wouldn't be immediately well versed on enough to give Irue a proper explanation.

As noted though, the Luna Dominion have been forbidden from studying and interacting with the fragments, so what she's told you regarding the conductivity of the material is what she's heard from a third party source rather than something she has confirmed knowledge of herself.

>>3465519
Yes! The Forgetting and an extra tidbit on top of that.

>>3465607
>but I'm legitimately not sure if I'm stupid and used the word wrong or if there's a misunderstanding that needs finer clarification regarding its interaction
Mim described the crystals as conductive, Elly's brother described them almost like they were drinking in the Mana, but not storing it, instead immediately outputting it, like water through a pipe, giving them the appearance of mimicry or reflection when Mana washed over them.
But if that's all it was, as soon as the input Mana stopped they should stop their"mimicry". Hmmm.

>>3465607
>You already voted for her to run away forever, anon!

Don't be putting that on me! People get frustrated and lash out a lot in this quest though it seems. Like. OOC.

First we had Carona hate. Then Ari hate. Now Asche hate.

Let's not even bring up Rinnier.

A finger traced the edge of your dual ringed bracelet. There was a reason Mint had been so influential with the Mana and it had every bit to do with the accessory setting innocently around your wrist. You couldn't claim to know more about the events that led up to the Shrine proclaiming her a Saint, but what you read in the archives didn't seem impressed with it. She would have been furious. It didn't concern you anyway. The real reason she could wield that kind of demand over the Mana's attentions should have been lost to time by now...

...But by that same token, you realized with an uncomfortable degree of unease, that fragment Mim pocketed should have been lost as well. You recognized those bizarre features from time spent in the Abandoned Child's Atelier, and having stumbled across it innocuously like this made your bones itch. Crystalline fragments unearthed from the Dead Zone formed back then. Things the Luna Dominion at the time had ensured you would be packed away under the supervision of Artemis to be studied well out of public reach. Things that held ancient runic inscriptions, in all likelihood heralding connected to the corruption which had driven the Shrine to murder one of their own Dominions whole sale, and worse so, the Mana to scar and lobotomize its own sibling out of mercy.

"...You said East Heaven is collecting those crystals?" You mentally reviewed the conversation just prior, feeling your tongue dry as the prospect of what you were looking at set in.

"Hoarding, really." Mim nodded, "They've been fascinated with their properties for a long time, but it seems like something changed around two decades ago."

"Roughly when they shut their borders." You recalled pensively. "A dispute in succession, wasn't it?"

"Officially."

...You waited a moment, peering curiously down at her upon realizing there wasn't going to be a follow up.

"What?" She looked back, "We don't have any more information on what's going on over there than you do."

"Why did the Shrine condemn research on the crystals, anyway?"

"There was concern that pursuit of their properties would lead to something heretical." You tilted your head despite yourself, physically doubletaking at heard a word like that out of the Shrine. Your disbelief only seemed to make Mim giggle as she covered her mouth to muffle the sound. "Weird, right?"

"What would the Shrine consider heresy?" As an organization they were undoubtedly the center of spiritual faith and leadership, but the Mana were an active - and often vocal - element in the world. There was no shortage of people capable of asking them their will. "...Wait, was it the Shrine that considered it heretical?"

"Yep!" Her giggles subsided, settling into a more mischevious, engaged smile as her voice lowered conspiratorily. "You got in one, too. The Mana apparently aren't concerned over it; It's the Shrine itself that took offense. The properties of the material allow for unorthodox interaction between humans and the Mana... Well, potentially."

You could think of some examples of that yourself, but the vagueness in her explanation still left you wanting. "How so?"

"Something impersonal." An unhelpful answer, but likely not on purpose. "Well, think of how it is right? Adepts converse with the Mana to make personal requests on their behalf. The people themselves don't have any particular ability over anyone else, it's the Mana who are making things happen as a favor. They dote on us like that, so... When Hraes reads the wind, it isn't that he just knows what the wind has passed, Jinn is telling him." Mim paused to make sure you were following. Noting that she'd not lost you yet, she continued apace in a direction you found you didn't particularly like. "Alright now imagine if someone didn't have to ask. What if they just pulled a lever and mana would move of its own accord without anyone actually asking. Like if anyone could just perpetually read the wind like that."

"That's..."

"Rude, right?" Mim finished pointedly.

You were thinking more along the lines of intimidating, but thinking about it made a certain amount of morose sense. The entire framework of Adepts and the relationship man held with Mana was based on a conversation. A form of personal give and take between the two which fostered connections... This- What she was describing was little more than automation. "Is that even possible?" Your arms crossed, already falling into your own mind as you tried to decipher this spiral. "Jinn would have no reason to put up with that, wouldn't it just stop working once the Mana lost interest?"

"Maybe. But what do you think happens after that?" She prompted, "Do you want to be the one who annoys a Mana until its patience is exhausted? The cataclysm of annoyance is the best case scenario for that, Wisp preserve if one begins to ignore us wholeheartedly."

"Can they really do something like that with those crystal shards, though?" It boggled the mind to try and invision. "You'd still need someone to interpret the Mana in the end, wouldn't you?"

"Yep." Mim nodded... With less confidence than you would have liked. "Hopefully, at least. The only records on their early experimental ventures mentioned that they had restricted themselves to more tangible end results. We don't know if they would need an Adept to determine Jinn's words reading the winds, but we do know that the early proof of concept for the gem's study was capable of producing concentrated blasts of wind without aid."

"And from there the Shrine feared the extent it would be taken to." You concluded, more to signal you understood than anything else. It was curious to think of something like this being heretical, but ultimately what this represented was a transition from the Mana as supporting figures into tools to be used. If that led to offending the Pillars in the end... This wasn't the corruption you had immediately been concerned over, but the outcome wasn't any less ugly. Perhaps even worse so if you contended with the possibility that this explanation was merely a valid excuse to prevent yielding their hand regarding the corruption itself.

Your head was starting to hurt, but another question presented itself with damningly pressing priority. "Who's buying it?"

"Hm?" Mim blinked, "The gems?"

"You said the Shrine's most common seizure comes from smugglers." A weight settled in your chest. "Where were they smuggling the gems too? Who wanted them?" They should have all been contained. You refused to believe the Shrine simply left the Dead Zones litered with something potentially capable of spreading the corruption in the first place.

"Who knows." Mim returned petulantly. "I mean it's not something that affects the Shrine back home in Carona much, but it bugs me on principle, you know? We should know!"

"You... Don't?" Oh no.

"Smuggling is a national concern. The Shrine doesn't have borders, so we can't exactly patrol or declare contraband." It was exactly the answer you found yourself dreading. "La'Fiel handles that stuff, and we rely primarily on the Crown and Nobility to cooperate with us."

"And it's not illegal in La'Fiel to possess." You conclude with a scowl.

"More or less." Mim shrugged, "As far as we know they've worked with us willingly in turning over the material after we made it clear the Shrine condemned it, but smugglers are rare, and those with something like the gems specifically are few and far between. There's no way of knowing if we've received all of it, or if the cooperation is a farce. Since the Luna Dominion's involvement on this matter is restricted, it feels like we're out of our element."

"Couldn't you just find out if you tried?"

"Yeah, probably." Mim agreed half-heartedly. "And then what? Get the Undine Dominion upset at us and tell them what everyone's probably already thinking?"

...You fell silent, forfeiting a continuation in that direction. She'd already said all that needed to be said anyway. Though the conversation had hit a dead end, your own thoughts got no such rest while the cogs in your mind shifted on relentlessly. The brief foray into East Heaven's experiments with the gem left you uneasy, but the sinking feeling in your lungs denied you the possibility of assuming it was for the obvious reasons - No. No, you were uneasy because on some level the notion of divorcing a Mana's influence on the world from its mind didn't surprise you. You'd had this exact conversation before with the echoes of Luna's Dominion.

That was their ultimate goal, wasn't it? Sealing Dryad away similarly would have sealed away the essence of Life itself. The way the world had dwindled over time was conclusive proof of just that. But what if there had been hope of isolating Dryad's corrupted mind from its body? What if life could be reseeded as a functioning automation separate from the personality it bore? What if all you needed was a demand that anyone could send to approximate the result with mindless, unerring consistency? Forget the Dryad Dominion, forget its Adepts, forget anyone needing to converse and interpret Dryad's will - Why were you running into that now? Why from East Heaven and not Artemis?

...Shade fucking take you, why didn't you realize what the Nymph's Wood was sooner?

The nomadic army, the Nymph's Wood, the gem fragments, the sickening foot steps East Heaven's research seemed set to follow, and finally Ephlesia itself - The city-state governed and run by Artemis - Was all of it connected?

If you submitted to your conclusion that Artemis was indeed the group designated to research the corruption back then, then Ephlesia would have been their base of efforts. If that effort bore fruit in divorcing the mind and body of Dryad's sleeping self, then theoretically they could have developed a method to breathe Life back into the land, which pointed you only more fervently towards the Nymph's Wood which had teraformed Rinnier's homeland, and from there, those who peddled it.

Teranford had already been done in by their machinations, their survivors desperately scattered and many of them seemingly having taken refuge in the belly of the beast. You'd considered their movements in La'Fiel to put this nation as their next target - Some part of you had just inherently assumed that East Heaven's border circumstances protected them from what was happening... But Rinnier had told you, hadn't she? When Teranford was struggling, East Heaven had refused their call. Their borders were shut tight before Teranford's crisis even began.

Had East Haven silently fallen while the rest of the world looked on?

You licked your lips dryly. Rinnier had just talked you out of dropping your responsibilities and charging Ephlesia, you didn't have the resources to handle them as you were. You couldn't make a difference yet. One person couldn't fight an organization, not alone, not without ground to stand on and people at their back. You knew that, you understood, really... But what if you were too late?

"Mim, what can you tell me about Artemis?"

"Uh... A lot, I guess." She gave you a sideways look, "I don't know that any of it would be useful. Most of it is old news and public record since they officially split off from the Shrine. What do you wanna know?" The little Luna Adept shook her head near immediately after asking, "...Actually, maybe we shouldn't."

"Why?" You had a source of information on the biggest threat right before you, someone willing to help you, why? "Is this about some kind of Shrine policy? Undine?"

"It's about you." Mim bit down, "You can't ask me to stay uninvolved in whatever you're doing and then turn around and do this. We both know how this ends, and you're going to get angry."

"It's-" ...What? It's what? Important? Unrelated? Complicated?

>Press for answers.
>Leave to cool off. (how?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>3467115
>>Leave to cool off. (how?)
We can't push her on this. If she figures out the underlying concerns (namely the existence of Dryad and the corruption), she risks losing her favored status, dying, or turning the entire Shrine against us.

Go take a dip in the river. We're filthy and soaked already.

>>3467115
>>Leave to cool off. (how?)

Meditate with the web to see how Marchovic is doing on Wisp?

We have to fight a Wisp adept, maybe. It would be good to have a better understanding of Wisp before that.

File: firefox_2017-03-14_16-55-26.png (24 KB, 155x323)

24 KB PNG

I think I'm going to leave this open until tomorrow.

This thread's been cursed between the unexpected distractions, forced skyfires, and just general icky feelings. 9 hours for an update and getting one update out a day is probably frustrating for a lot of you.

We'll be continuing regardless, but I'm resigning myself to this rather than continuing to stress out over disappointing everyone and wasting their time. If anyone stays up super late to try and catch votes, please go ahead and take it easy this thread and get some rest as well.

>>3467115
>Press for answers.
We're asking this because of Caylen, not because of Dryad. Mim can know about Caylen, right? Probably about the Prophet too.

>>3467115
>Ah, you're right, I'm getting upset
>Sorry, I've been having difficulty controlling my mood lately
It almost seems a little bit unfair to bring up all this conspiracy stuff and then admonish us for digging into it but then that's exactly what we did to her so I guess it's fine. Irue seems to have a worrying habit of unravelling when she figures a bunch of stuff out at once, I sure hope this doesn't fuck us over in the future!
>Leave to cool off. (how?)
Go talk with Gehr? Raid is sleeping and I can't think of anything else to do.

>>3467427
The fact that we're capable of meditating to wisp means Irue already knows quite a lot about it. It'll be in here somewhere
>https://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

>>3467589
I think I said this before but 1 post a day is top tier valen imo, I don't usually get to participate this much.

>>3467115
>Leave to cool off. (how?)
Go for a nap

>>3467115
>>Press for answers.
We can frame it as worry about Cayden due to the moron galavanting off to join them.
Unfortunately, Mim's smart enough to pick up on us talking about the crystals and Artemis back to back, but that damage has already been done.

>>3467180
>>3467427
>>3468196
>>3468198
Cooling off!
>River dip
>Meditate to Wisp
>Meet up with Gehr
>Nap time

Hmm.... Time to summon a Wisp apparition then.

>>3468359
>>3467913
We need answers, now!

Here we go!

>>3470117
>Hmm.... Time to summon a Wisp apparition then.
Uh, I don't suppose we could take off the bracelet first to avoid that?

>>3468196
The Mana of Light. Though placid and ever honest, its standards were forever impossibly high. It knew only disappointment, but encouraged the persistence to try. Wisp is a nurturing pillar, highly conscientious of perceived responsibility and duty. Because of these values, Wisp and its Adepts are often considered to be centers within the community; It is this same kind face which masks the high standards and disappointment which lurk behind their supportive efforts.

ASPECTS: Wisp commands Light and Physical Capacity. This includes personal capabilities and healing. Wisp's unappeasable nature is a secret kept in negligence, often discovered only by its Adepts upon attempting to grow closer to it.

That's all we know about Wisp. Maybe we can use the bracelet to block off the Adepts communication with Wisp? We can use it to mess about with souls and Mana is jealous after all, maybe we could drive wisp off by putting another kind of mana around the adept?

Instead of cutting our soul off to make an apparition, maybe we could just stretch it out into a field?

Or ring it like a bell?

At the very least it would be good to know what kind of frame of mind the wisp adept would be in, maybe we could use that to talk them down or something.

>>3470161
Please do not vote to rip pieces off our soul, stretch our soul or ring our soul like a bell. I do like your idea of trying to cut adept off from their power with the bracelet, it probably won't work but it's more than worth a try if we get the opportunity, though it's not like we can test it atm without crippling one of our allies.

>>3472292
I mean, just in case these are ideas in the "less than lethal" category.

File: 1413174444037.gif (301 KB, 350x464)

301 KB GIF

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=valen+quest

Alright guys I've archived this thread because it's become pretty clear that I'm in no state to be running this week. There's some frustrating mental things going on and a lot of exhaustion since I've done things I really shouldn't have and ended up suffering for it. It shouldn't take too long to turn around, maybe a week or two at most, but I imagine the thread will have fallen off before that happens and we'd have no time to get anything done anyway.

So note to future me re-reading this archived thread:
>Winning vote was to cool off
>Rip Irue's soul apart to summon a Wisp Adept that cripples Mim and gives away our position
>Nap time was clearly a vote to be knocked unconscious and drift down stream in the struggle. Wake up in Teranford.

Sorry for getting everyone's hopes up. We'll be reconvening (relatively) shortly once I've gotten my affairs back in order.

>>3473034
Thanks for running!

We do love you for doing this, you know.

>>3473034
Don't get too sorry over this, we know how difficult QMing is and you should make sure you feel well before anything else.
Besides, some content is more than no content and if you're stuck in a sanatorium we won't get any.

>>3473148
>>3473178
I appreciate you guys a lot! Was also proud of everyone when you managed the Forgetting and the thing on top of it. This should only be a short reprieve while I try and recover.

Minor blogging I guess:

I tend to slip back into depression around summer which isn't normally too ruinous, but I've been stuck under the skyfire for the better part of a week now despite best efforts to... Not be that. So for most of the time after the thread launched I've been cooked, exhausted, saddled with a debilitating headache and irritable on top of the general downward spiral.

Still, I'm hyper conscious about not running as much as I've wanted to lately and wasting a thread when I finally do feels like shit. Were I in you guys shoes and waited this long only for the QM to pull this shit, I'd definitely be ticked, so if you're not then you're a better person than I am.

File: 1333339039772.jpg (329 KB, 657x797)

329 KB JPG

>>3473034
Sucks to hear you're not doing well.

>>3473182
I have long wondered what drives you from the skyfire, and why it affects you so. Sometimes I wonder if you really are a vampire. but ya know, 4chan, personal info, etc...

>Were I in you guys shoes and waited this long only for the QM to pull this shit, I'd definitely be ticked, so if you're not then you're a better person than I am.
If you write, we will come. So long as we have a way to know when you're writing, at least. It's disappointing, sure, but it's not like we can get on your case for not spending time writing stories for us for free.


Thanks for running what you could. Hope to see you again soon. If things don't work out for a thread in the near-ish future, let us know. It's good to know you're still alive, if nothing else.

>>3473034
See ya next session

>>3473182
Welp, that does it. We have to kill the sun

>>3477457
>Valen is the prequel to Lamplighter