Antarctic Termite

It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

883-b57-0s-q

The humanoid R-type body isn't particularly well suited to swimming. I've modified some Heraktati to be amphibious and capable of abyssal dives; If my estimates are correct, and they sometimes are, they should instinctively take to their kin. They'll be able to perform draught work.

...Yes sometimes. I'm not Phi. I'm not going to abuse my ability to skip to the end using numbers. I have a sense of fun that doesn't involve micromanaging an entire civilisation.

I've taken some inspiration from the weaponry Teknall used to deal with the Realta. By running a current between two magnetic rails through a mobile, conductive intermediate- in his case, an adamantium bullet- it's possible to generate a lot of force.

Well, seawater is mobile, and conductive, so I've decided to fix two-pronged 'wings' to some of the morphs. These can be magnetised, and the siphon can be used to produce electricity, resulting in a magnetohydrodynamic engine for easier movement through water.

I've also sharpened them, in case my J-types ever need to shank something with a few thousand volts.

Heartworm's filters will make for convenient habitation, with plenty of natural advantages. I've drained them of some energy via the roots to make them less hazardous. Still, if the J-types can't handle high radiation or the occasional explosion, then I've definitely made a mistake somewhere.

...

I think we're ready to go.

---

It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

90d-b3w-7t-f

...You know what? I'm not going to finish that siphon. It's better this way.

For one thing, even negative fifty is a far cry from the subzero temperatures in space. I'll need a lot of energy output to keep these J-types going. And there's not much magic around to be siphoned anymore- With Reathos gone, the energy in his Witnesses' blood has gone down significantly.

Fortunately, I've found another source. The Pronobii were always a crusader race, and one of the weapons in their arsenal was the ability to leech 'life' from the creatures around them via a siphon. Well, I've finally found out what 'life energy' is.

There's a form of magic in the Codex we all overlooked: Slough's.

Every rock in this universe is humming with the potential to produce and harbour life. It's not so much magic as it is... Divine residue, I guess. If we look far enough into the universe we'll inevitably find points where it interacted with the physical substrate to produce life spontaneously.

That's probably what Chiral Phi was trying to calculate when she had her hands on the Codex. 'But I don't have hands...' Don't kid me, Phi. I know what you are.

Whatever Slough's legacy is, exactly, it's strong enough to fill the siphons. In fact, it's strong enough to make them overflow. The J-types will be fine in space or the cardioid or the poles, but in warm weather, well. My prototypes use pipes and radiating vanes to shed the excess heat, and most have several smaller siphons in the joints rather than a single one in the core. Even then...

Heheh.

I've turned the children of ice into a people of fire. And I don't regret it one bit.

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It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

---

392-kdx-46-x

Cryomancy, as the R-types called it, is a form of pure magic. I cannot truly reconstruct it, but I will do my best. It's too perfect to pass up.

What the R-types were capable of doing was control proton bonds in crystallised matter- The force that binds water molecules together and arranges them into the glassy material we call ice. I've been testing what cryomancy I can mimic using machines and captive souls, and it turns out that the same power can be applied to water that is sufficiently cold and under sufficient pressure.

In other words, abyss water!

With some other modifications, cryomancy can also interact with ammonia and hydrogen fluoride, which have similar chemistry. That'll be useful when I send the J-types into space.

Speaking of.

I didn't choose to bring back the Pronobii just because they were gone. (Or to spite Vestec for getting there first.)

(...Not entirely, anyway.)

(I mean, yes, maybe.)

(But he'll never read this so it doesn't matter.)

(Where was I? Oh. Space.)

All Pronobii are fuelled by a siphon derived from the White Giants. Their bodies are made of nothing more than ice, some silicates, and aluminium. A trickle of organics is needed to form their blood, and no other nourishment. They are resistant to cold and do not breathe. If I want intelligent life to help me colonise the stars, they're an excellent way to start.

I still need to perfect that siphon, though. Mine keep overloading and setting things on fire.

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It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

---

24s-e79-vh-d

I don't intend the J-type Pronobii to be identical to what they were. Duplication is boring. They will come in a variety of morphs and phenotypes, none of which will be quite like their models.

Some of this is by necessity. There are various functions that I want to add to my Pronobii, and others that I will be unable to restore.

Their ocular apparatus poses a serious problem. The original R-types used blood from Death's Witnesses as a biochemical model- They were more crow than ape, and more statue than crow, and held Lesser Eyes of Reathos. This enabled them to see the True Name of a soul, the script of which formed the basis for their own written language. More importantly, it allowed Reathos himself to look through their eyes.

Death's Witnesses are, of course, extant. More valuable genes for me to work with. They've helped me make an unfortunate discovery.

Reathos is dead, but the link is still intact. With the god of death reduced to chaos, so is the telepathy.

All the eyes I've built so far release a heavily distorted psychic signal in no particular direction, without lull. Eye contact results in mental scrambling that other mortals would find painful.

I'd rather not pass on these devices- They featured too heavily in Pronobis culture and identity. Instead I've opted to seal them away within the skull, while strengthening them enough to see through the hardened tissue. Other morphs, with exposed eyes, will simply have to wear blindfolds.

Ironic that the one feature meant to make a Pronobis palatable is now its most fearsome.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Kho Uh. I'm stumped. What did happen?

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Yo, I might not be very active for a few days starting Monday. Going off on a wild goose chase to the middle of nowhere. Will probably still get some stuff written, though.

It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

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Battle Brother Yiftakh stood on a low hill with the goats, watching the thing that had found its way into the sacred meadows of Chronos. A shadowless glow illuminated the scene, though it was night; For since the thievery of the Jvanic Entity, Chronos had no moon, nor any sun, and it was the many-folded walls of that world that brightened and dimmed according to the passage of Time, as the Timeless One had ordained.

Yiftakh sat down on a rock. He reached under a nanny-goat's chin and ran a finger through her beard. The thing before him, which he supposed was some kind of animal, was most plainly a work of that same Jvanic Entity.

Yet though his sword shone brilliant at his side, the Victor was patient and by no means keen to fall into the Pride of his fallen brothers and sisters. If it was Fated, then so it should be. Let the creature live until its Time.

And so the Scribe struggled on its way over the earth, as no humble goat had ever done. For Chronos has its own means of testing the worth of an interloper, and each step the skeletal quadruped took was a pitfall, each stone a spike, and the air chill and harsh.

But Chronos is not cruel and an animal mustn't be punished for the sins of its owner. In time the Scribe found its way, and the faint blue light of its framework body came closer and closer to Yiftakh.

He raised his hand to the animal. It bolted. Sleek as a greyhound and light as a dove it fled back over the stones, and keeping a gentle pace, Yiftakh followed.

And followed.

And followed. For he was patient.

In time it grew comfortable with his presence, and the faint rents that trailed after the Scribe's pointed snout and from mantid-like arms upon its chest were put into use. He watched as, little by little, those rents were stretched, bent and woven into a familiar shape upon the ground. And when the Scribe departed, that shape stood.

Yiftakh gazed upon his own face.

And he gazed back.

Yiftakh slid his sword from his scabbard. His Invert gazed into its own twisted hands and inclined its head, feet still yet knees shaking.

"That's enough," said Yiftakh, and cut himself in two.

It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

---

110-3m2-u9-f

Resurrecting the Pronobii will not be a simple task.

Every gene of that species is designed not to violate the natural lifespan that Reathos allocated them. Vestec's magic vaults past barriers I cannot overcome. If I am to adapt the Pronobii to my purposes, I am to do it the hard way. Manually.

The body of a Pronobis turns to ice upon a natural passing. Their architecture was based on recrystallized snow. A powerful spell protected them from divine alteration. A thousand years of decay has claimed their bodies and since then an ocean has been conjured over the lands where they once dwelt, with all the tectonic chaos that implies. I have very little to work with.

Let's call Reathos's original Pronobii the R-type. None remain. The only bodies will be those slain prematurely. If I'm extremely lucky I might find some aluminium scraps of their siphons, or even bone. Fortunately, I know how to make my own luck.

I have some Sculptor records of them as well. Mostly memories from... Walker...

...

(I hope they're okay.)

Death's Guardians, as reimagined by Vestec, I'll label V-type. They are not genetically or thaumaturgically identical to the ancient model,
but their genes will contain data I can't pass up, and there are plenty of them in that vault. They're not meant to leave until someone completes Vestec's stupid treasure hunt, but that doesn't mean I can't show myself in.

I'll need a better agent than Scarlet, though. Come to think of it, I might need many. Hm. Priority, then.

There are other specimens, that are genetically identical to the R-type. I saw them in person, in Old Chronos. There are many of them among the Victors; It seems the Riddler was drawn to their impending doom. These are the C-type.

It's easy enough to send probes into New Chronos. I don't think it will be easy to get them out. Still, their immortality makes them priceless. They are my best link to Pronobis culture. Good luck, Jvan.

There were no Sculptors directly derived from R-types, which is... Regrettable. Reathos's influence was too strong for that. None of them would have survived until now, anyway.

There's only so long a Sculptor can cheat death, and they were still a fledgling race, back then. Flux is the oldest one alive, being a Djinni of almost a thousand years before he ascended. The only other Sculptor of comparable age would be Walker.

(...)

I need to see to those probes- Agents? Scribes? Scribes will do.

(...)

(Walker...)

It might not look like much now, but this is gonna be a very important Jvan post.

51r-fi0-0o-a

Further south. More Heartworm.

The Dwarves have been touched by numerous deities. Scarlet's eye is archaic by my latest standards, but it can still scent Teknall's handiwork. That other entity, Lazarus, has also been... Busy.

Vestec's constant interference at last does me some good. With the Legates scattered, it will be difficult for the Empress to resume control of those assets. In the meanwhile there are plenty of ways to make sure she does not abuse them.

If only they were less... Decidedly mortal in form and thought...

Yet once again the Emaciator manoeuvres in ways I did not expect. The Dwarven people have fallen into its territorial sphere, partially through its proxy, Tauga. I like that girl, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to entrust her with the duty of bringing down Lazarus if she gets... Uppity.

I might have to cooperate with my avatar. The thought is disturbing. I should be in control.

Ugh.

In any case, I am finally homing in on the Wraith Stone. Here I sense still more disturbance by my most reckless brother. The cycle of reincarnation seems to be largely intact, though the same cannot be said of those tasked by Reathos to guard it. It's probably too much to hope that I might find some monument to their memory.

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9ff-801-sp-e

Damn you, Vestec.

Love Bomb Piracy Front - Prologue

@Blueflame We were just getting the team together on our first ship, but we're pretty much done now. Not sure when the next adventure will start.