The Grey Dust

The Blood Compact

The formal invitations were sent.
To the Cold Northern Wastes of Siberia
To the Far Stretches of the Orient.
To the Deep Jungles of Africa.
To the Painted Halls of Florence.
Dozens more penned and inked in blood.
A call to Council at the Old Abbey.
Answer the call and ruminate over the fate of vampires and man.
Purfleet, Essex the Castle on the Thames just outside of London.
A perfect place to remember that even great ones die.

Signed by Bedivere himself and sealed with his signet in wax by the tradition of old. These letters would find their way to their intended targets, the other vampiric old ones. It had been some time since the last coven meeting or at least one of this importance, but to determine not only the fate of Void who had executed an unannounced attack shortly after Magnus' own failed attempt at starting a war, but the fate of Humanity and vampire relations all together. The utmost secrecy was required, for to gather such a large number of old bloods was to certain gain the attention of the Purge and Solider but even then they would somehow manage to find out regardless as though they had a leak within their own ranks. So let them come, and rid the world of the lesser elders who are no longer relevant to the world.

"Do you think it wise?" Bedivere asked seated in a chamber of stone seats encircling a stone table. Upon each seat was a shield or sword, some arms or armor belonging to a long dead brother. A helmet or blade in vigil for the fallen knights of Camelot as Bedivere sat at his place to Arthur's right, the second seat away, next to Lancelot Arthur's Right-hand. Now in these ancient halls, they were all no more, Arthur the once and future king gone and yet to return to reclaim his spear and seat. "My agents tell me much of him, we may have even crossed paths in the Holy Lands. Is he worthy? We shall test him but will you accept his claim should he pass? Our ways are dying... And I grow weary of being the last of our Order. Arthur why have you not yet return? She promised me you will, a life as mine was given to you was it not my King? I speak out of turn, I apologize, it has been so long, forgive me my Lord. I am still loyal to you and your Queen." Well, sanity was far out of the question, although perhaps in the privy of the old castle did Bedivere allow himself to drop the shroud of composure and ask the spirits.

It dawn would break soon, and Mithias should arrive by morning. Evidently the boy had even picked up a particular sword, no doubt from Void's own arsenal. A perfect bait to add to the collection of arms. Contagion, what a waste of a fine blade to be coated in disease and such pestilence. Maybe the Purge may find it ever more noxious to deal with in their own containment, or perhaps it was time to create a disease to make the herd tremble before them? It was time to give the last orders to move a stone to Carfax. And then once all is done, return to the waters of the font.

The Blood Compact

Actually, now that I think about it...

Holy water in vapour form is definitely more potent than liquid form.

Because to vapourize holy water they had to...

BOIL THE HELL OUT OF IT.

Forwards Unto Dusk

<Snipped quote by The Grey Dust>
I concur, I like the concept. There are, however, some balance issues, like magus permanence. He could potentially maintain multiple magus (magi?), and I feel that gives him an advantage over other characters if he can simply accumulate abilities. Perhaps he could "forget"?

Furthermore, it feels a little tricky for him to be "the glitch in the system" and fool the universe. That makes him a slightly different from everyone else and allows him to disable other characters's abilities, which is a little... haunting, to say the least. Makes me feel like the rest of the world when the US dropped the atom bomb—a gap in power. It seems like he can essentially win a one-on-one fight using a practiced mental link by disabling the other opponent's abilities.

Of course, not to say I might be reading you wrong or that he's 100% unbalanced. I just need it clarified for me, so I can be assured that he's not able to singlehandedly beat everyone. Just concerned, that's all. But it might be okay with Jenno.

@ravenDivinity

He can only keep one at a time, regardless of duration. The psychic link over a long period of time is created and lingers, but he can still only maintain one connection active at a given time. Thus no, he cannot "collect" the powers of others and store them as his own indefinitely. I apologize if it was unclear, it was a minor tagline in the abilities which explained he only retains one at a time and copying another magnus replaces the one he currently has regardless of duration.

And the idea is that yes, he can potential shut down others, this also means he cannot simply copy another character who is a powerful mage at their consent for a week's time and become essentially another mage all together. Hence to prevent this from happening, there must be some backdraw to letting him copy your magick (e.g. to essential produce another mage capable of doing the exact same things which could generate interesting recursive combos) which would be the eventual stealing of one's abilities. Thus we cannot have two omnipowerful magi running around between the two of them for indefinite periods of time should they enter a partnership to rule the world(s).

And of course, one does not go on a one-on-one duel with Ibyxx for obvious reasons, or at least not without being prepared to face yourself. It is better to bring friends along, but you should be able to beat them too as he may be inclined to borrow their powers too.

The Blood Compact

@The Grey Dust

Considering Bedhivere's speed, my current contingency plan for killing him is basically to dump enough Holy Vapour onto him to get him to burn up. If at all possible, I'd dump him into a lake of Holy Water.

@thewizardguy

Be careful what you Mist for.
You may get what you Vapour.

The Blood Compact

@Shikaru
Again, Mustard Gas to the face. Also, I'm waiting for him to give a speech or something. Breathing in a whole bunch of acidic gas? That's going to end badly.

@thewizardguy

That would be along the lines of Bedivere.
You'd probably be able to catch him monologue at an inappropriate time.

Forwards Unto Dusk

I shall hopefully have my char sheet by the end of tonight.

Edit. Done. I hope it is accepted.

My Arcanist

Arcanist’s Name: Ibyxx
Arcanist’s Title: Ibyxx, the Spell Stealer.

Gender: Male
Age: 28

Arcanist’s Magus: Appropriated Arcanus (Psionic)

Description of Magus:

What’s yours is mine. While the more common of the certainly rare psionic magi use their mental magus to degrees of telepathy and telekinetics, none so far has demonstrated the unique ability which had earned Ibyxx his title within the greater arcane community. By subtly tapping into the mind of another magus and establishing the psychic link, he may convince the universe that he is in fact the very same mage, even be it a vessel or otherwise. The process takes anywhere from five minutes to an hour, dependent upon the level of mental defenses the other mage prepares against the psion. Once the link is made however, he may act as that particular magus in terms of spellcraft, although he may only assume the identity of one other magister at a given time. Furthermore the ability to mimic the magus of another magister is temporary of course, often fading by the next day as the psychic link dissolves or if Ibyxx chooses to establish a link with another magister before the expiration thereof.

While this ability grants him an arsenal of spells, it is highly dependent upon the presence of another magister and the usefulness of their own abilities. This ability also does not grant knowledge of how to use the magus of another mage, which must be obtained through observing the magus, to which Ibyxx generates a spellbook to document the uniqueness of magus formulations from Arcanist to Arcanist. Lastly, he also absorbs whatever strengths and weaknesses to the magus obtained, meaning that both weakness and strengths of his dual arcane arts apply to his spellcasting.

Amplifier: Repetition. The more times Ibyxx uses his own magus to copy another magisters’ arts, the greater the residual psychic link between them. Usually, it is by the fifth or sixth time does the true nature of his abilities resolve in the ability to steal another magister’s magus for the duration of the psychic link. While the original ability merely simulates the identity of the same arcanist, this more potent version effectively convinces the universe enough to treat Ibyxx as the original and disallow the other arcanist to formulate their magus: a variation of the skill far more powerful than mere replication. Finally, should he create the psychic link between the same magister for at least two dozen times, there is enough residue to allow him to retain the stolen magus almost indefinitely as the strength of the residual link grants him a more permanent gateway into higher arcanum.

Nuller: While mental bastions are the most effective resistance to his powers, Vessel mages are also tricky, as they require two identities assumed, of both vessel and source, the latter also is far more difficult to simulate. Furthermore as a Psionic magus, the state of Ibyxx’s own mind is subject to taxation, should he use his magus repeatedly without periods of extended mental rest.

Description of appearance:

Clad in the black and white robes of the Twillight Monks, Ibyxx stands with an air of mystery around him. The truth of his frame hidden beneath the long flowing strands of silk and satin, trailing past him as he moves. He is most definitely a court Arcanist, wearing an emblematic brooch upon the collar of his dichromatic robes as a symbol of the Crepuscular Kingdoms. Though the man is quiet, walking with a slight bow despite his height and stature. His hair was once kept shaven, but now has grown out in silvery-laurel locks with two braided rows to manage the rest which falls to his shoulders. His grey eyes gaze out into the world, or perhaps far less into this world than into others, giving him a mystifying stare should he glance anyone. Some say those eyes can look into one’s very soul, but of course it was not his eyes which delved deep into the being of another, but his mind which penetrated into very concept of one’s existence.

A short biography:

Who was Ibyxx? He bore no last name to tell of his origins by blood. The universe had forgotten of him more times than he could count. Only a memory of himself was made within the ledger, the true identity of the spell stealer. Ibyxx was born once upon the strange tides of the Duskthorough, and perhaps once more by the waters of the Crepuscular Kingdoms. The gateway poured open, festering like a wound within the worlds as the doomed waters poured in. Under the painted heavens of undying twilight, the crimson-golds against the deep violets amongst the bronze waters of the islets did Ibyxx fall. To Kardia’s white shores did the gloam receive him, the boat slowly drifting back and forth between the waves. The chance of an orphan, tossed into the Duskthorough, lost to the world across and lost in the world within.

A gift or curse, this child which had appeared from the mists of the seas, far beyond circling for days within the evergloam. But by fortune’s guidance did he make his fated arrival to the Island of Kardia to which a sect of wandering twillight monks found him and took him into their hidden temples to be initiated into their ranks. What they did not know was that they had adopted into their order a child of great Magus, the first and last of his kind. From the Opacamancy which brought him here, their child of two Arcanists from the Crepuscular Kingdoms, it was they who opened the portal into the Isles before their own ship was swallowed by the waves.

The monks of twilight were Kineticists and Luxomancers who studied their arts within the tranquility of the Duskthorough. Within the black and white temples dotting the shore of Kardia did they hone their skills, reflecting upon their inner powers to glean what information they could concerning their magus. By years of dedication, one may become slowly enlightened to the nature of one’s own abilities, to be able to truly know oneself. They had suspected Ibyxx to be an Arcanist, they had felt the subtle energies of the universe around him, less stable and more fluid, yet his powers never seemed to manifest.

For 15 years did Ibyxx dedicate himself to his studies in meditation, gazing upon the great mirrors of the temple halls for hours in fasting and waking concentration. Yet his scrolls were always blank, no nirvana came to him to write of the experience and show the masters. It was in the great libraries did he stalk the shelves for records of other Arcanists of his order, their thoughts and experiences of introspection. He envied them for their realizations of self, brought through the dedication of learning. And yet what they revealed about themselves and of their own magus they only shared with the other members of their order, to the disappointment of the greater magical community outside the Twilight monks.

It was in the 19th year of his study, by the time he was 24 years of age, did he finally petition the elders to leave the sanctuary of the temples to wander the Isles and perhaps find a destiny within the the Crepuscular Kingdoms. They denied him of course, in fear of their knowledge to be dispersed by an unenlightened one and their order thrown in the chaos of magical politics, and only allowed him to do so should he beat the grandmaster of their order in magical combat. Though he failed at least a dozen times through the first year of monthly battles, with each duel he learned more and more of the grandmaster’s techniques. Ibyxx studied the old man’s moves, his spells, his quirks and abilities, lasting just a little longer every time against him, a feat impressive for a non-arcanist. And by the 21st year, his powers had awakened. In the early hours of the eternal twilight, where day and night meant nothing and time was judged by the flow of the tides and trickle of white sand in the hourglass, the elders met to watch the 17th duel between the grandmaster and Ibyxx.

With a blast of light did the grandmaster begin, expecting the younger to dodge the blast as usual to coax him into another beam of light. Yet today a new page was written, a new scroll, as Ibyxx smiled to himself and countered with a blast of light of his own to shock the onlookers and Grandmaster. He had done it, they thought, he was a Luxomancer, or was he? The grandmaster gazed upon the sky to call down a pillar of light from the heavens above, yet found it deflected by a shield of light before it struck Ibyxx, an advanced technique for someone who had merely began to show is magus. The child had been fooling them all along then? As the greatest technique the grandmaster had saved was yet to be seen by anyone present, not even Ibyxx would be able to counter it as he prepared himself to cast the finishing spell.

But he never did. A single mote of light floated towards him, splitting off into smaller and smaller sprites as they encircled the old master in a hypnotic cage of swirling lights. The old one blinked, dazed by the spinning flashes surrounding him, trying to shake off the sense of vertigo as he stood there dumbstruck: this was his technique, the Lights of Shangri-La, designed to be a non-lethal spell to incapacitate within moments of exposure. How did Ibyxx…

Ibyxx the Spell Stealer was born.

A tale written in the pages of his own book, written by a man who had assumed the identities of many others. In the current times, Ibyxx works in the Arcaneum Archival, the grand official libraries of the Crepuscular Kingdoms, collecting research on the theories of Magus and offering his own abilities and training to would be arcanists seeking to study in the ways of the Twilight monks without entering the turbulence of the storms which threatened the serenity of Kardia. It was said the hidden temples disappeared from the island, but Ibyxx had left the order long since his victory over the grandmaster earned him banishment from their sect. But from this punishment he was able to return to the Kingdoms of his birth place.

Recently, the Aurora Empire had requested the aid of any Arcanist to help fight against the First Light, while he was primary a man of research, he was only able to refuse the orders of Kingdom to aid their neighbor for the sake of the Dusk. Eventually he settled on assisting the Aurora Empire after the third request, or rather arrest, and was sent to the court of Empress Scettero.

Text Colour: 7DFDFE

Hero–D&D 5th Edition

very well, just give me a message if you have a space :P

Hero–D&D 5th Edition

ah a pity. Oh well.

Hero–D&D 5th Edition

too late to join?

The Blood Compact

Your environment is your greatest weapon.
Plus Hale's "combat style" is to break every fucking thing nearby, be it related to the fight or not.
And if it's broken it's still an improvised weapon right?
So yes.

@akje

A more effective weapon against the Purge-Solider: Bike-throwing catapults.

I should maybe have Bedivere go insane one day and construct these <_>.
Just to recreate the siege weapons of the past he longs for.
Because irrelevant plot point.