Thinslayer

Star Trader

The way she bit her lip was so cute. Sofie smiled at him, a shy sort of smile that told him she was about to step out of her comfort zone.

"Let's do this," she said.

And kissed him on the cheek.

That spot became holy skin for the rest of the day. Ed turned bright pink and squealed like a girl hummed with the biggest grin on his face. "Amen to that. Let's do this thing."

This was going to be a good day.

A light started flickering by the warp drive display on Sofie's side of the control panel. Ed could feel a slight rumbling beneath his feet.

He turned a worried glance to Sofie.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

Lore: Waru Mountain

Surrounded by rainforest and packed with snow at its peak, Waru mountain was once the ancient nesting ground of the twelve mighty beasts, the Guardians of Aion. Created by the Immortals to defend the planet in their absence, many of the Guardians instead descended into bestial madness and went their own separate ways. The mountain remains a holy site for the Waru tribes, and climbing to its peak has become a rite of passage for many aspiring priests. The few who make it to the top are said to ascend to heaven, where they allegedly help the gods create new species.

The truth is...surprisingly accurate...and a little more gruesome...

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

Previously on Arcane Adventures:

Warden, upon witnessing the king's gruesome demise, chased the attacker out into an alleyway. He defeated one of the thugs, but another one attacked him with a crude blast of magic. Goro came to the rescue and stopped the thug with a javelin throw. Together, Warden and Goro resumed their chase, trailing behind Catarina, who'd drawn a bead on the elusive assassin.

Meanwhile, Nkosi developed an Earth Wall spell when he made to stop a fireball from hurting Winter Valentine. With wild riots outside and casters around every corner, he surmised that the city was not safe, and urged Winter to escape with him.

The Immortal now had a choice to make. With the king dead and riots in the city, should she...
* ...help quell the riots?
* ...crown a new king and make him quell the riots?
* ...let the problem sort itself out?

There was some merit to option #3. The reason behind the riots was the sudden introduction of new, unknown powers. Once people got used to them, a new order would settle in place. However, she did not want to bank on that order being a beneficial one. Option #1 seemed very doable; the ancient weapons systems she wore could probably protect her from most offensive magic and break through most defensive magic. Counting on that, however, was incredibly risky. Option #2 was only available if there was any authority that people recogized, but that required navigating the complex web of politics, and she didn't have time for that.

There was little choice but to take option #3 and fix the problems later once she'd acquired some magical knowledge.

"Winters!" Nkosi urged. "We need to go. This city isn't safe anymore."

Winter nodded, and wrapped her cloak tighter. "I agree, it's not safe here. Liliana, can you come here for a moment?" She touched the pendant around her neck and drew out a few grains of dust, which she touched to Liliana's forehead. Then with a few movements of her fingers, the insignia of the Immortals drew into the girl's skin. The now-glowing golden embers returned to Winter's pendant.

"Liliana Rosenvelt, I dub you Immortal's Ambassador to this city. With the seal upon your forehead, all shall know you represent me and my interests. If any dares harm you, they shall invite my wrath upon them. Go, live, and watch over Midhaven until I return."

With that, she moved to Nkosi's side. "I shall place my life in your hands. You may lead the way."
_

Warden and Goro lost the assassin in the crowds. All they knew was that he was male, dark, youthful, and long-haired - not nothing, but hardly much to go on. Meanwhile, as people started to get a grip on their new powers, gangs began to form, with the smartest spellcasters as the leaders. Organized battles between gangs erupted in the streets of Midhaven, and less-adept people often got caught in the crossfire.

Yes, it was high-time to leave.
_

Catarina's arrow sang through the air toward the assassin's neck, her aim straight and true. What stopped it was the most curious thing she'd ever seen in her life. A faint aura of silent lightning appeared just over the assassin's body, and the arrow shattered against it as if it were a brick wall. Then, his form began to turn translucent, shimmered the light like a flowing river, and vanished into thin air.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

The above lore bit explains a few things in the upcoming scene. The Immortals shaped the world of Aion, and dust magic is how they did it. Since Winter already has experience with spellcasting through dust magic, she'll be able to help the player characters understand the concepts of mana magic up to a certain point. However, due to the limitations of her magic, her experience will only take her so far. Spells of moderate complexity will be beyond her ken, and we'll have to develop those on our own.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

Breakdown of True Magic types, and contrast with Mana Magic

While this story primarily revolves around mana-based magic, there is another form known as "true magic." True magic draws upon one's life force, the will to live, to affect the world. Unlike mana-magic, it requires a medium in order to work, as well as substantial spiritual power to affect the world to any noticeable degree. The most common spellcasting method uses a spiritually sensitive individual as the medium and demons for the power source. As you can imagine, this is extremely foolhardy, so the Ancients developed a brand new method, which the Immortals use. The Ancient method uses advanced nanomachines as the medium and the person's own spirit as the power source. They dubbed it "dust magic," or "seed magic" in some circles.

Dust magic is considerably weaker than mana magic, and detrimental to your mental health. Excessive use of dust magic separates much of your spirit from your body, resulting in side effects such as dizziness, confusion, depression, temporary insanity, and out-of-body experiences. In short, it's highly unpleasant business.

Mana magic, on the other hand, draws upon the ambient mana energy for its power, and naturally responds to your thoughts without the aid of a medium. Abundant, powerful, and versatile, mana magic is superior in nearly every way. The concepts behind the use of dust and mana magics are much the same, however, requiring the power of imagination for their creative abilities.

Star Trader

I've been mulling over the story post for the last few days, but the most I can come up with is a meager few sentences. Since Ed and Sofie officially a thing now, the two should have a conversation about what they want out of a relationship. Problem is, I'm running up against a technical challenge: writing chemistry between characters. I feel like I need more practice before moving forward on that. To that end, I've been thinking we could do some simple story exercises. Like, we'd each play things like a date in a coffee shop, a man and wife going on business, a mother and her favorite son, two girl-friends going shopping, and such like. If we screw up the chemistry, no harm done - it's not a major RP, and we can always start the scene over to try something else.

Another, more insidious hurdle is my insecurities cropping up. The longer it takes me to put out a story-post, the longer I feel like it must be to compensate. After making you wait more than a month, a few sentences in reply hardly seems appropriate. When I make a roleplayer wait a week or longer, I start imagining the other person growing frustrated or losing interest, and then I don't even want to look at the roleplaying site for fear of getting an "I Quit" message or something. I'm keen to know your true train of feelings.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

My new post introduces our new main villain, whose unhealthy obsession will bring useful levels of antagonism.

Main story post should arrive next week.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

Valentine.

My sweet, sweet Valentine.

Do you remember?

I still remember the days when we were young. The seven of us scraped by on our wits, fueled by scraps, and frayed by false generosity. The cold, the bitter cold, caused even Death herself to seek warmth at our sides. Death's sweet embrace kept us all alive, the promise of a bright afterlife better than all the pale realities of this wretched dimension.

We named her Winter.

Remember now?

Hardly could I forget your oath, that should the trials of life grow too trying on our wearied souls, you would escort us to the gates of heaven and vouch for our souls. But pray tell, how can a man go meet God his maker when there lives a goddess to hold him in her arms? Had I but one life to live, I would have spent it just to see you ascend to immortality, to escort you to the throne of divinity so I could die in the glow of your beauty. It was fitting that the Alchemist should grant you immortality first.

And how bright you were! Even clad in our immortal skins, our brightest lights were as darkness to you. Some of us boasted strength, some boasted smarts, others paraded their popularity. But you were always different. You gave us family. Where you were, there home was. We did not deserve you.

What is humanity to you, then? Perhaps the capacity of their minds is unique, 'tis true, but they haven't the lifespan to grow a shred of wisdom, nor have they the natural goodness of lesser, feral creatures. Humans are evil, born in darkness, and bathed in utter depravity. You know this to be true, and I even heard it from your own lips. "There is nothing good in man," you once said to me. "Were God to wipe him off the face of the universe, He would be hailed a hero and crowned with glory for His conquest."

So tell me, then, why you continue to play with them? Why do you feed them, clothe them, speak to them, even show them kindness? Why do you create worlds for them, guard their families, and raise their children? What do you see in them that you should stoop so low beneath your station?

My mind reaches only one conclusion.

I fought it, wrestled it, avoided it all I could.

You have joined their side.

O Valentine, my sweet, sweet Valentine, the time is nigh when at last I come to free your heart from mankind's wicked chains. Soon, my lady, I shall return the ancient favor and hold you in my arms, as you once did for me. Soon, we shall be together again.

Just the two of us.

The other five can go to hell.

Star Trader

Twilight of Luna, the Raving Maiden

The warp fighter shuddered as she came out of the jump. Darcy slumped into the chair and gave a long exhale. "We made it, Luna! We really made it! Hot dam, that was close. Way too close."

A feminine voice murmured from a nearby speaker. "On that, we are in agreement. I believe you left your bag behind."

Darcy slammed the armrest. "Crap! It had all my toiletries in it!"

"An apt exclamation," came a wry retort.

The captain lightly punched the dashboard. "Dam straight. Gettin' cheeky for a bot, aren't we?"

"Thank you, sir."

He tugged on the control yoke and activated the manual pilot. "Welp, I can always grab more. I got me a hot date on Horus II."

"I'll be sure to cool my jets for you," Luna quipped, and gunned her engines for a flash. At that, Darcy snickered. "You wish." He punched full throttle and set a course for the spacedock.
_

Traffic control gave them the runaround for a full hour before a landing zone finally opened up. Luna shifted to humanoid form and took the rough shape of a lady in a dress (as much as a 3-story tall behemoth can), while Darcy put on his best power-armor bodysuit and donned a rogueish leather outfit over it. He looked Luna over and nodded. "Nice getup. Is that a new shape?"

"No sir. I acquired the design approximately 1.3 cycles ago, when I experienced a feeling akin to depression from washing out of combat exams. I perused the net for an identity and discovered-"

Darcy began walking away.

"-and he's gone. No matter."

She folded her "hands" and observed his discussion with this Krakticus Quinn fellow. A cursory web search revealed him to be a racing mogul, and not the friendly kind - his forum posts were terribly confrontational and provokative, with some of them expressing great distaste for automation and artificial intelligence.

Suddenly, she heard Darcy mention her name in the same sentence as proposing a sale.

She replayed the audio in her memory. Yes, she had heard that right; he'd given an estimate of her performance parameters before citing a sale amount. Luna kept her silence as Quinn and Darcy bargained over a staggering amount of money. "...and if you win the race, why, I'll even throw in a kiss!" Quinn was saying.
Darcy grinned back. "Have your girlfriend gimme that kiss, and I'll call it even."
"What, you don't wanna kiss from your best friend?"
"From ol' llama-breath? No thanks! Ha!"
"Seriously though, how about ten mil for it?"
Darcy shook his hand.

"Deal."

What item were they trading? Multiple replays of the audio yielded no definitive results. As Darcy walked back, she asked, "Pray tell, what are you trading?"
He smirked. "Speed for cash."
That was most certainly not the whole truth. As the subordinate, however, Luna elected not to question him. Instead, she located several open racing tracks and started calculating their coordinates.
"Set a course for the Kracked Kourses," ordered the captain.
With the coordinates already set in her mind, she shifted back into aeroform and teleported Darcy onto the bridge.

"Aye, captain."
_

Whether it was her human origins or simply a feature innate to all sapients, Luna's curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't help studying the other contestants. All of them were finely tuned machines, well-built for their tech level and uncommonly nimble. They were still starships, but in name only, since their drives were designed more for agility and precision than for efficient interstellar travel. She was, in a word, impressed.

"The competition will be stiff, captain," she warned.

"They better be."

It took her a moment to catch his meaning. Stiffness was thought to arise from lack of movement, so in order for the competition to be considered stiff in that regard, she had to move sufficiently faster that their motion was inconsequential in comparison. She started running the numbers. That would require a worm-jump, which would be cheating.

Luna made a humming noise and replied, "You'd be even stiffer, sir. Shall I prepare massage equipment for the captain's chair?"

Darcy leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs. "That would be absolutely boss." As the start timer counted down to its final moments, he gripped the control yoke and turned off her autopilot functions.

"Ready, my little Luna-tic?"

"As ever, captain."

The timer squealed, and in a fraction of a second, every starship in the race took off. The course began deep in the atmosphere of the gas giant Horus Prime, selected for its highly contained storms that could destroy unshielded vessels except in narrow, shifting corridors. Buoys outlined the racetrack, and it was probable that a cloaked station helped maintain the safe corridors. Luna had persuaded Darcy to obtain some autopilot programs, since she was miserable at helping him fly, but he still had to make most of the flight decisions himself. And what a splendid job he was doing! The hair's-breadth maneuvering and daredevil moves he was pulling would put even the best A.I.s to shame. She only knew maybe one or two Warp Fighters from training who could match him.

No use pining for what can never be. Instead, she focused her attentions on predictive calculations, working out flight patterns in the competition and figuring out what they would do next. One of them had her worried. The Nemo's Knickers, a heavily modified Terran frigate, was expelling far more energy and more unusual wavelengths from its engines than any fusion reactor could support. Its pilot, too, was nearly as good as Darcy, and the vessel was slowly but surely gaining on them.

But Darcy looked focused, determined. Distracting him didn't seem like the right answer. Instead, she designed an impromptu electronic warfare suite in her tail and ran interference in the opponent's autopilot. Electrical signals emanating from the craft decreased as predicted, but it showed no signs of change. Is that pilot truly operating without electronic assistance? Surely no human is capable of that. Yet, as they danced and weaved through the narrow passages, she could only reach one conclusion.

That pilot could not be human.

And his engines were micro-warping.

She may have washed out of military training, but she was still a Crescent warship at heart. There was nothing, nothing in the galaxy faster than a Crescent warship. That pile of scrap metal needed to be taught a lesson in respect. Luna dug deep within her frame for every scrap of power she could muster and funneled it into her core. Darcy took the hint and nudged her faster. They sped through the corridors faster than they'd ever gone before. Her impulse drives screamed as they tore through Horus prime.

But still their competitor inched forward. Now, however, its micro-warping became more obvious as Luna moved faster. She made detailed records of the violation, but it wouldn't mean much if they lost. Not to her, anyway. She could detect the finish line now; it was still quite distant, relatively speaking, and if they could contiue out-turning and out-maneuvering the opposition, they could still take first place.

Then Darcy started worrying about their competitor. And suddenly, it was all over, with Second Place! banners filling the HUD.

They landed back on the station Horus II. Darcy looked drained, and Luna made an attempt to comfort him. "Your flying was exemplary, captain. You made the robot struggle for its victory."

Darcy gave her a look of restrained rage. "You're one to talk," he bit back. "Your autopilot programs sure did a great job, didn't they?"

His bile and sarcasm surprised her. Luna took a moment to gather her thoughts, but before she could reply, Darcy had stormed out. She watched him talk with Quinn for a few minutes, his rage transforming into utter defeat as the racing mogul imposed his obligations on the loser. Then, Darcy began to walk back to her, with Quinn looking like he was waiting for something. Darcy came back inside and made a bee-line for the engine room.

"What is going on, captain?"

The captain opened the maintenance panels to her reactor core. "I'm holding up my end of the bargain." With that, he reached inside and started detaching her Q-Core.

Panic.

"N-No! No! Captain, you cannot be serious!"

He continued detaching the core. Main power functions disconnected, forcing her to start up the backup power.

"Please captain!"

No response. Shapeshifting functions lost power.

"I tried, captain! I really tried. We both tried. It doesn't have to be like this. We can still-"

Her speech capacity vanished as her higher functions dropped into low-energy mode.

Darcy withdrew the black sphere from its housing, walked back to Quinn, and dropped the item in his hands. "All yours."
"See you around, Richard Darcy."
The captain slipped his hands in his pockets and watched Quinn strut away.

"He's such a jerkwad, eh Luna?"

No sound came from the vessel.

Darcy's stony expression faltered. With a long sigh, he re-entered the ship and started the takeoff sequence.

"This is gonna be a long few years..." he murmured to himself.

Star Trader

Drafting a story post now. Since I haven't nailed down Krakticus Quinn's character yet, it's going to take me a little while.