Balance

Myriad Reality

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Neil: That's the best way I can describe it. From the few times it's happened here the person isn't born with an ability, it just pops up over the course of a few days with no real reason.

@Stabby

So quickly?

Myriad Reality

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Neil: Then let me give you a basic run down on what the town's figured out so far, along with a theory or two so you'll be prepared if you happen to run into them more often. When someone develops an ability, they also eventually start showing symptoms of one of the long term side effects that slowly twists their personality and/or morals, which is why most people call them Twisted.

@Stabby

These abilities develop?

Myriad Reality

.

Myriad Reality

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Neil: Sad. I was hoping to maybe talk with them if they're as passive and helpful as you say, but oh well. You don't already know of the side effects?

@Stabby

No, unfortunately. Way more fortunately, I haven't had much interaction with Twisteds.

Myriad Reality

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Zel: Not too sure what yur askin'.

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Neil: I have no clue what their luck was my friend, as that summary at the end is a placeholder for the second half of the story. The one who had the full thing left before we could finish making our own transcript, and just told us to put that at the end as he left. Would the twisted you keep mentioning happen to be nearby?

@Stabby

No, unfortunately. Way far away. What were you saying about side effects?

Myriad Reality

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Zel: I was actually born in this town, so as far as I know we've been here my whole life.

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Neil: It would be nice if that was the case, but given what I've theorized about a type of twisted and how many similarities there are, it's likely that the spirit as they called it originated from the person themselves.

@Stabby

I suppose the good luck was a bunch of helpful happenings—traps already sprung, doors open from the inside? The kind that's just unbelievable enough to become superstition but probably doable by a selectively intangible animal thing? That's what the Twisted I met did for people.

Myriad Reality

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Zel: Most of the town does as well, so it's likely.

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Neil: See, that's what has puzzled me for so long about that story. How it near perfectly matches the description of one of the theorized types of twisteds and yet the person in the story shows no signs of the side effects.

@Stabby

Side effects? I mean, I'm assuming the spirit came from somebody else, not the person affected in the story.

Myriad Reality

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Zel: Oh, yur talkin' about the town. From what I know it's just that we happened tuh set up camp on top of some good soil and resources, and it kinda just grew from there, with travelers somewhat like yurselves decidin' tuh settle down here and help out with either farmin', buildin', or scavangin'.

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Neil: *Looks a bit surprised before regaining his composure.* So you're saying you met a non-violent or non-hostile twisted and got to witness their ability firsthand without fighting? I have to say that it's honestly hard to believe. But if you are telling the truth, then it might confirm one of my theories from what we've only guessed about them so far.

@Stabby

I wouldn't have believed it either. She seemed like she was just a scavenger, and her powers were useful to that end. The wolf slash fox slash whatever spirit thing ran around and seemed to be able to interact with stuff like the spirit in the story.

Myriad Reality

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Zel: Not quite sure what yur askin' about.

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Neil: How so? Most of what we understand about them has been guessed at from what encounters we've had alongside observations made from a distance.
Zel: *Says nothing but keeps an eye on everyone in the room.*

@Stabby

I mean, things that looked like spirits. One of them we met—totally benign, thank goodness—had this wolf thing that could come in and out of her leg.

Myriad Reality

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Zel: I can't say many specifics since that would make it harder if word got out, but a good summary is that each part of the guild helps with the upkeep and runnin' of the town in some way.

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Neil: That's a clever way to go about it, I might keep it in mind for a bit of training.
Ah, yes, that story. *sighs.* A short answer would be that though most didn't believe in spirits and magic before the collapse, the existence of twisted's seems to be slowly changing that, as we still don't understand much about them. *Is rubbing my temples as if to relieve a headache at this point.* That story is the only one I can't make sense of or even verify if there's any truth to it, and it only gives me more grey hairs every time I try to ponder any of it.

@Stabby

You know what, I feel like I've seen that sort of thing before with another Twisted.