[Art/Writing] Jairus: Merry Christmas

[Pagan]

Hooo-arrgh! I'm back! In this thread at least...
To tell the truth, I'm much more interested in the Terran story than the Covenant War, but it's starting to interest me. I'm getting a lot of Final Fantasy 12 feel from Cov War, what with the expanding empire and the angry smaller countries.

As for Wanderer's Arrival, you're right, that is long. What's up with Dreska and hats? He a jager? So I'm guessing that Terra is supposed to have a light and comedic feel to it, while Cov War is supposed to be a bit more serious?

[Jairus]

Hooo-arrgh! I'm back! In this thread at least...

Yay! I'll write something in celebration! Like a poem or a legend.

To tell the truth, I'm much more interested in the Terran story than the Covenant War, but it's starting to interest me. I'm getting a lot of Final Fantasy 12 feel from Cov War, what with the expanding empire and the angry smaller countries.

Vaguely... but there's a bit more at work. It's kind of a realistic take on the "evil Empire" cliché: note that I even called the resistant group "terrorists," and Dreksa himself uses that word on them - they don't like it. There's a lot at work behind the scenes here, and the Empire's intentions are a lot more than merely controlling Gwyteg. Once they control the continent, they mean to move on and conquer the remained of the continents and countries. To be honest, they're looking for something... something that was lost a long time ago. What it is they're looking for... well, they're not quite sure yet. Whatever it is is enough to drag Dreksa all the way out there, though to be blunt it's a Stargazer thing and he doesn't know what's going on yet.

I'm surprised you didn't ask what the deal was with Dreksa's mom Annwyn and this legendary male wizard Annwyn. Unless you figured out what happened in the retelling of the story?

As for Wanderer's Arrival, you're right, that is long. What's up with Dreska and hats? He a jager? So I'm guessing that Terra is supposed to have a light and comedic feel to it, while Cov War is supposed to be a bit more serious?

Dreksa's like a Cubi - he has an instinctive understanding of fashion and the need to look good. The hat, incidentally, is a fedora... I think. And yes, Covenant War is a lot more serious, but Terra has its serious bits too. It's just on Terra you never see entire cities wiped out by a philosopher's stone (remember how I mentioned that way back when?) or massive aerial battles between aircraft. Covenant Wars is the more "high-fantasy" setting, though I do have a "sword-and-sorcery" concept that also has Dreksa involved.

Incidentally, accounting for variation between universes and the general timeline of the multiverse, Covenant Wars is set about five thousand years before the events on Terra. Even the Covenant Wars characters who survive to the end of the story are all long dead by now... but since it's a completely different world/universe, that isn't very important now is it?

Um, out of curiosity, any ideas for what I should call the stories on Terra?

And, um, any other questions?

[Pagan]

Actually... I had completely forgotten about the whole Annwyn thing when I posted.

Alright, I had thought that Cov Wars was supposed to be serious. Your style of writing, I'm not sure- it's not intrisincly comedic- but it is a bit light, and that kinda offsets the dramatic tone. And then there's the fact that nothing dramatic actually happened in Wanderer's Arrival.

No clue, unless you can help me out with a name for mine. Oh, and on the subject of names, I tend to go for very simplistic names, one or two word titles. Right now, the title I have for my story is "Missing Gods" but that doesn't exactly fit and anything else just seems to have instant and heavy connatations. Heh... I guess I should get something up in my thread... been awhile...

[Jairus]

Actually... I had completely forgotten about the whole Annwyn thing when I posted.

No worries. So, what do you think is going on there? And do you think Dreksa should tell them the truth, or let them continue to believe the story?

Alright, I had thought that Cov Wars was supposed to be serious. Your style of writing, I'm not sure- it's not intrisincly comedic- but it is a bit light, and that kinda offsets the dramatic tone. And then there's the fact that nothing dramatic actually happened in Wanderer's Arrival.

Well, except for the fact that the kid he ran into was the viewpoint character, and this is actually a retelling of an event that happens earlier in the novel where Treyl runs into a guy in a black cloak, and it's kind of meant to hint that Dreksa is kind of important... and tied into things a little differently. Incidentally, the change I made was that he puts Stigmata into its storage mode: I want to avoid the video game cliche of wandering around a really big city with a wonking big sword on a character's back... er, side.
      Light, heh? Hm, I've never really thought about it. I'll have to use that as a trick at some point... the lightness would disappear at certain moments, and if people have gotten used to the slightly joking manner they'd feel uncomfortable. I sense tomb scenes ahead!

No clue, unless you can help me out with a name for mine. Oh, and on the subject of names, I tend to go for very simplistic names, one or two word titles. Right now, the title I have for my story is "Missing Gods" but that doesn't exactly fit and anything else just seems to have instant and heavy connatations. Heh... I guess I should get something up in my thread... been awhile...

"Missing Gods" could work. If they're going to end up looking for them or if their disappearance was really really bad, maybe "Lost Gods" or something like that. "Gods End"... hm, depending on how important you want the gods to be, that's how you should title. Think of the subtitle for the first Jak and Daxter game: "The Precursor Legacy." The whole game was surrounded by this framework of the Precursors and their technology and the things that they had done, and you could feel their effect all of the time.

[Pagan]

Let the people believe what they wish, no reason to lift a safe delusion if the truth is harmful.

Well, it's a bit difficult for me to explain, it's just in the way you tell the story. Occasionally giving an odd anectode or half speaking to the reader, plus there's a feeling that I know you've read the tropes wiki in your writing.

You honestly don't know who the gods are in my story? And another thing, I don't want to feel as if I'm giving something away in the title. Orginally, it was "Missing God" but when that becomes hugely revelant to the plot, suddenly the reader knows something before the characters. In my mind, that's not often a good thing.

[Jairus]

You honestly don't know who the gods are in my story? And another thing, I don't want to feel as if I'm giving something away in the title. Orginally, it was "Missing God" but when that becomes hugely revelant to the plot, suddenly the reader knows something before the characters. In my mind, that's not often a good thing.

No, I know who the gods are in your story. I'm just wondering how important they are to the overall plot and story. Are the characters going to end up trying to find their "gods" or others like them? What are they going to learn about them? That sort of stuff. The name fits the work, not the other way around. Well, usually anyway,.

Just as an example, the tentative title for the last part of The Covenant Wars is "Broken Oath." There are a whole lot of meanings in that. On the one hand, you have the various promises that the characters make and have made to each other. On the other hand, you have a handful of promises and treaties between governments. Then the Covenant blades (there are eventually two of them) get added to the mix. Then you have the Oathkeeper sword that Martongis used to wield... There are a bunch of different oaths that could be broken, but the real oath isn't revealed until after the term is mentioned. I believe the words will be "I leave you this blade... to ensure that this oath can be broken." It is only later that I reveal which oath this person meant...

[Pagan]

Well... you have done it. The hook is now thoroughly lodged in my mouth and has a steadfast grip. Congratulations. Now I have to know why someone would want an oath to be able to be broken instead of kept.

[Jairus]

Well... you have done it. The hook is now thoroughly lodged in my mouth and has a steadfast grip. Congratulations. Now I have to know why someone would want an oath to be able to be broken instead of kept.

The short answer is that someone made a two way promise ("you scratch my back, I scratch yours" kind of thing) with someone else, but didn't fully trust the other party, so made a way to break the promise (magical contracts can be really powerful) in case it was ever needed. Kind of like how some contracts have an escape clause or something like that, or a deal where the deal is off if someone violates the contract parameters. "Broken Oath" refers to that promise in particular... though quite a few promises end up broken by the end... figuratively as well as literally (such as the physical element of a promise - like a seal on a document - being broken). Even Dreksa breaks a promise, though in his case it's because he's smart enough not to trust an enemy. The series is called The Covenant Wars because ultimately it's a lot about promises.

Does that help answer the question, or raise more?

[Jairus]

Well, I'll feel bad if I don't get something up, so how about some information on the Cool Ship? Do note that this is all temporary: the names are likely to change once I get the naming themes going and get the stuff right. So, um, go.

Artemis-class Variable Blockade Runner Shepherd Junior
      A class that never got beyond the prototype phase, the Artemis-class was designed by a consortium of Salem kingdoms as a variable equipment blockade-runner class vessel. The Artemis-class vessels were vaguely oval shaped, with a central cockpit, two main forward cannons, two defensive gun turrets on the sides for defense, and engines at the back, with the rooms arranged around an interior corridor: the whole thing had a fairly narrow front profile. The original intent was to have a fast vessel that not only could reach areas in a hurry but could be customized for specific purposes, such as troop transportation or medical relief or supply runs. Main access would be granted by ramps mounted to the sides, beneath the gunnery ports. However, the concept proved unworkable at the time, as vessels designed from the ground up for their intended purpose were far cheaper and the various kingdoms were on the brink of war with the Empire so resources were rare, and the prototypes were slated to be scrapped. That's when the pirate Kiyoshi Ilzakar stepped in.
      At the time, Kiyo and his partner Telum were "in the market" for a new vessel after their previous vessel the "Shepherd B" was heavily damaged and rendered unrepairable. A few words of gossip from a drunk dock worker led the pair to the most completed of the few prototypes, designated Sx-BR/A-#07. They "appropriated" the vessel and fled to the Carbaireos chain and began upgrading their vessel. Twelve years later, very little of the original ship is recognizable, and the Sx-BR/A-#07 has been rechristened the Shepherd Junior, an absolutely unique vessel on the world of Belenus.
      The engines have all been replaced and custom tuned to the point that their total output is approximately 16% greater than their original thrust. The lift rings have been replaced with larger more powerful models. The two main guns were removed and replaced with two rotary auto-cannons stolen from Imperial gunboats (ammo for these is - fortunately - extremely cheap). The defensive barriers have been replaced with new models, and a full-blown capital class shield projector has been installed for forwards defense. The gun turrets have been moved from the side ports to top-and-bottom gun turrets in order to make room for Kiyo's greatest modification: a pair of swing-wings stolen from a "borrowed" Imperial prototype mounted on the sides of the ship, with three configurations to maximize the ship's abilities. In Cruise mode, the wings are folded back against the hull: this is the normal configuration, and doesn't really amplify Junior's speed any, but on the plus side the wings look like a part of the main body. In Speed mode, the wings swing forward halfway, revealing an extra lift ring in each wing and a small set of thrusters: this mode is the fastest of the modes, and in it Junior is capable of speeds matching craft half it's size. In Attack mode, the wings swing fully forward to reveal the original two main guns mounted inside them: Attack mode - thanks to the placement of the lift rings and the thrusters and a few extra flaps - is also the most maneuverable of all the modes. All of this is powered by a generator removed from an Imperial corvette (approximately twice the size of the little Artemis), and run by a differential engine removed from the same corvette in addition to the ship's original differential engine. The ship can jack into the teleportation crystal array should the need arise, and also has a cloaking device. The interior has been heavily customized as well, with hidden smuggler spots and weapons stashes, as well as a full-blown munitions assembly area located in the common area. The ship features a jury-rigged communications system that can jack into almost any system currently in use. Finally, chaff flares and a handful of hidden explosives launchers mounted at certain locations add an extra bit of bite in a pinch.
      This all comes at a price, however. Currently, Junior only has three crewmembers, six less than would normally be used were she in her original configuration. With Kiyo as the pilot, Telum as the copilot and gunner, and Calvin in the engine compartment to make sure that everything runs smoothly, there are no spare hands available: the gun turrets are almost never used because of this. Parts for the ship are rare, so Kiyo is reluctant to endanger her in actual combat. Both the cloaking device and the shield system can only be used in Cruise mode, the least energy-draining of the three modes. Space inside is at a premium, and most every room has been shifted or modified: there are two bunk rooms with space for three people each (one of which is used for storage), a common area, and two cargo holds (when all ten characters are finally on board, half of them are sleeping in hammocks in one of the cargo holds). One of the entry ramps is also unusable because Kiyo modified it to contain a single hover zoomer. The teleportation system takes so much energy to jack into that the ship has to power most of it's non-essential systems down in order to use it, and usually they do it only after they've landed. The power control systems are also slightly finicky, and Calvin usually has to keep an eye on things when things get busy: she even has her sleeping area set up in the engine room to stay close to everything. Though the main frame was significantly enhanced and braced in order to mount the swing wings, the armor was cut down slightly, making the defensive barrier even more essential during battle. The ship is immensely difficult to control, and Kiyo always leaves gunnery in Telum's very capable hands in order to divert more attention to actually piloting. All in all, Junior is an incredible ship with a few handling problems. Of course, a full-sized crew would probably fix these problems, but this has never happened in Junior's history...

Okay, questions? Comments? Excitement from techmaster-glitch? Anything at all? No? Hm, tough thread.

[Jairus]

Okay, how about something a little weird? I've referenced this group a few times, but I've never really given any information about them. Well, anyway. This is just general info for the group, and most of it isn't finalized yet, and I really can't give out any concrete info... um, well, let's just see where this takes us, shall we?

The Knights of the Realm
      The exact origin of the Knights of the Realm is unknown. They've existed in one form or another for at least five hundred thousand years, and most likely even longer: in truth, the Knights have technically existed since the Multiverse was created. They also tended to stay out of events that were more or less "outside their jurisdiction," which basically meant that they only tended to step in when things got really bad. Essentially, the Knights were founded to protect the various worlds and to help maintain the borders between them and in essence defend the various universes and dimensions from threats that they would be unable to handle on their own. They would attempt to handle threats in a way to avoid interfering in the development of the various worlds, and more-or-less had a code of non-interference: this wasn't really a code so much as something they all basically did. They did, however, have an oath that all members sword: "The strength to protect the innocent, the wisdom to uphold justice, and the courage to stand against evil." The Knights were fairly self-sacrificing, and most of the times that they got involved in the affairs of different worlds it was in an attempt to protect lives at danger. One semi-knight once observed that "Life comes first, society second," and in a way that sums them up fairly well. The Knights technically existed in order to protect life.
      There were only two limitations on who or what could be a Knight. The first was a really minor one: sentient life only. The second was a little stranger: you had to be aware of the existence of other worlds and universes. There was more to it than just that, of course. Almost every sentient species (and some that had no species - see Robots in an earlier post) has had a representative in the Knights at one point or another, though the Knights tend to be mostly made up of Beings rather than Creatures. This is somewhat related to the Knight's earliest days, when they were made up exclusively of Beings in order to protect the worlds from dimension-hopping Creatures. No special abilities are required, magic included: there have been Knights with no special abilities beyond their own intellects, though most of them pick up some magical or witchcraft abilities. To be blunt, there really are no longer any limitations on who can be a Knight, though of course not everyone becomes one: at most, there have been possibly several hundred thousand.
      Knights tended to work in teams of three (a Warrior, a Mystic, and a Guardian) in order to maximize their combat ability. The Knights had a loose hierarchy, and were technically a group of equals. They did have a sort of Council of Masters, but it was more of a way of pinpointing problems. The Knights could deal with anything: one a handful of occasions they were even dispatched to fix a paradox someone had created by traveling back in time and killing themselves or their grandfather before their parent was conceived. The Knights mainly dealt with problems of an interdimensional nature, and tended to let wars and politics happen on their own... though they were not above stepping in when things got really nasty. The Knights were also close allies of the High Dragon race, though it is possible that the original function of the Knights was to act as a sort of counter to the Dragons in case something went wrong.
      Equipment wise, they use basically everything. Any tool, gadget, spell, potion, elixir, or weapon you can think of, the Knights have probably used it at one point or another. The invention of the Familiar 300,000 years ago caused a few changes in the order, and basically every Knight started using them. The Knights also use the Ward and Robe systems, and are also among the few groups to use the Armor system as well (if you want info about these three, just ask... I'll probably get to it eventually, but I'll get to it faster if you ask). However, their single greatest weapon was something referred to as a Soul Blade (temporary name, and I'm open to suggestions).
      The Soul Blade was in essence formed from a "contract" of an immensely magical nature that a Knight opened with themselves. Combined with something to focus the power from this contract on, and a Knight was capable of creating a Soul Blade. It was in essence an extension of a Knight's power, a tool that gave them more control than almost any other skill. No magical abilities were required to create this blade, but forging the "contract" was a long and tedious process of training and meditation. Once completed, they could call on this power at will to create a unique weapon suited to their needs. In the hands of a magic wielder, the blade was the ultimate level of control over their powers, and even when made by a non-magic wielder their power was incredible. Knights couldn't use just any weapon to create their Blade, however: they needed something with some form of significance to them. Blades could be "banished" and "summoned" at will, and the only one who could wield them was the person who made them originally. The introduction of the Familiar greatly enhanced the usefulness of these weapons, adding the ability to willingly call up almost any spell that the wielder had ever perform and carrying with them the enhancements and powers of their original form. Familiar-type Soul Blades can also have the "soul" aspect removed from them, returning them to their original form and allowing their wielder to make another Soul Blade: this was rarely done, and to my knowledge only a handful of Knights actually did this on a regular basis.
      In terms of what happened, the Knights were mostly wiped out in a war about 9,500 years ago. The exact circumstances are either lost to history or deliberately hidden, but only a few hundred Knights survived the end of the war. The order slowly fell apart over the centuries, and no longer technically exists. However, some individuals have been attempting to revive the Knights, and so far have had relatively little success. Currently, these individuals are trying to gather a base of people who could jump-start the knights. Considering that things are about to get really really bad, they had best hurry up and get the Knights back now...
      It is possible that one needs to have actually traveled to another world in order to forge one's own blade: to my knowledge, no one who simply knows about another world's existence has created a blade. Part of why this may be a necessary step is because the journey might isolate that person slightly from the universe, allowing them to call on this power... but this is purely theoretical. Soul Blades are similar in functionality to the weapons that Dragons forge to control their own powers and abilities, and the two might be related. Soul Blades are also tied in to an ancient and mysterious weapon that supposedly allows whoever is chosen to wield it to also wield any other Soul Blade in existence and thus use the powers and abilities of the original wielder... but this is the stuff of legends and superstitions at best.

And I'm sorry this is a little lot disjointed, but I'm tired and am now going to bed. Questions, comments, clarifications, WTFs, ideas? Anything? Seriously, ask me anything and I'll try to clarify. And I know that the information on their blades is relatively crazy and disjointed (compared to the rest especially), but that's because it's still being worked out. Anyway, good night!

[Pagan]

I think a puzzle piece just fell into place. I can't think of any good name for "soul blades" at the moment, sorry. But the blades are basically what makes a KotR special from the average joe in the meta sense?
Again I see that 9,500 year ago mark. You sure it's not important?

As for the ship? Bweehehehe, I love it when you have a wonderful car/ship/whatever that could handle like a dream, if it had the right crew and the right parts. That dysfunction between piolot and crew members and ship makes for the funnest situations. So I appluad you for giving me an unexpected treat.

[techmaster-glitch]

Got your message, thanks Jairus. To be honest, like I said before, I just hardly have the time to actually sit down and read all of it anymore. But, I have now read the tech post and the ship.

All I can say is yes, I likey very much Punk settings FTW! The magic-powered 'technology' actually seemes like a more advanced form of Eberron for Dungeons and Dragons. And a question: Are these ships actually spacecraft, or just skycraft?

[Jairus]

I think a puzzle piece just fell into place. I can't think of any good name for "soul blades" at the moment, sorry. But the blades are basically what makes a KotR special from the average joe in the meta sense?

More or less. Incidentally, I had a few ideas today about them that somewhat modify my ideas, but still hold true.
1) You need to have traveled from one universe to another: you can't just know about or have communicated with other universes. Nick knows about other universes thanks to his experience with that dimensional traveler, but he can't actually manifest a "soul blade" yet: on the other hand, that woman theoretically could (she never does, but she could). Any interdimensional traveler could theoretically manifest a soul blade.
2) The reason for this is that they are made of multiverse energy, and in traveling between worlds you can tap into this energy. This also means that the Knights can only have existed for approximately 200 Million years, since that was about when the Multiverse was created. Given the nature of the reality-defying magic that they are made of, Soul Blades can be made of anything and take any sword-like shape: some Soul Blades have been made of frozen water (not ice) or even wood, and they are all just as effective... well, technically just as effective.
3) The core of the blade is actually not usually a weapon: it is more of a charm or something of that nature. Familiars that are used to make a soul blade are used in their storage mode, which is a jewel or some small thing like like. Familiar-type soul blades are significantly more controllable than normal ones, but they all have the same basic powers. You can temporarily disrupt a blade by attacking this core, but it won't last long at all.
4) You need an actual soul to make a soul blade. A being without a soul can wield one, but they can't make one or tap into its powers, and is little more than an ordinary weapon. The weapons might be forged from a person's memories or connections to someone, but they all somewhat reflect their maker: you can learn a lot about a person by their Soul Blade, and some people can actually pick up faint echoes of the original maker.
5) Anyone can hold and use a Soul Blade, but the wielder is the only one who can actually use its abilities, and can summon it back to their hand from anywhere. You could be on the other side of the multiverse and it would come, and to my knowledge there is no way to prevent it from coming. The blade will come through any barrier or spell... and as some Knights have discovered, they will even move across time itself to come to their wielder. To the wielder, a Soul Blade has very little mass or weight, but it acts that way towards everything else. A soul blade could be five feet long and a foot wide, and it'll feel extremely light in a wielder's hands.
6) Soul blades continue to exist after their maker's death. They can also be damaged or even broken, but will repair themselves with time. If the original wielder is dead, there is no way to ever use it as anything more than a somewhat fantastical sword... well, no normal way, anyway.
7) While you can technically withdraw the "soul" from the core, this usually ends up destroying the core, so it's not really necessary or even recommended. You might be able to manifest more than one, though I don't know if anyone has done it... certainly no character I have in mind has done it. Some Soul Blades do manifest as two halves, but that's different. As mentioned, it is possible to wield more than one, but the other one will be little more than a very fantastical and reality-defying weapon. To my mind, there are only a handful of characters who actually dual wield Soul Blades, and the ones who do that are using something extra that allows them to easily wield them.
      ... and that's all that I've got for now. Oh my, that seems to work much better.
      Out of curiosity, exactly what was the puzzle piece that fell into place?

Again I see that 9,500 year ago mark. You sure it's not important?

Let me think... Dreksa is born within twenty or thirty years of that mark, a massive gathering of Stargazers unmatched before or since, Annwyn Ydraigoch and Skaira Stargazer and the dragon Albion all die (the last at the hands of Dreksa), Dreksa permanently loses his true dragon form, a climactic battle between tens of thousands of KotR (hey, KotOR reference! Yay!) and an army of Dreadknights that left only a handful of Knights and a single Dreadknight active, the Knights disband themselves, a scene involving a giant transforming mecha dragon built by Merlin, the Dragon race retreats to their dimension with only a few members remaining outside in an attempt to defeat Avalon once and for all, a mutli-dimensional civilization is brought crashing down by Merlin and a wrist-watch radio transmitter, a few universes and worlds are destroyed to save the rest of them, some stuff involving pirates and ninjas and demons and Lazerai and nuclear weaponry, Dreksa begins to wander the multiverse in order to make up for the loss of the Knights and possibly learn the truth about the lost past of the Dragon race... nope, can't think of anything important.

As for the ship? Bweehehehe, I love it when you have a wonderful car/ship/whatever that could handle like a dream, if it had the right crew and the right parts. That dysfunction between piolot and crew members and ship makes for the funnest situations. So I appluad you for giving me an unexpected treat.

Thanks! It's kind of a reference to the Doctor's TARDIS, which aside from the Serenity and the Millennium Falcon is the ultimate cool ship. The TARDIS has always had handling problems, but it was only revealed during the last season finale why: a TARDIS is supposed to have a crew of six (one for each station at the main control console), and the Doctor has been controlling the whole thing by himself as best as he can. The ship works perfectly (and does stuff that quite frankly would make any god jealous) once the Doctor has six people to help control the ship. Of course, it's also a reference to the ships in Gundam that are always short-handed because of the events of the first or second episode, and how there tend to be control problems... for a few episodes at least, and then you never notice them again and everything works perfectly. Of course, considering that I mentioned that it was meant to be controlled by nine crew members and I have listed ten characters who are going to be in the "main party," you can guess what's going to be happening in the climactic last battle in the series... hehehehehe.
      I actually feel a little sad, because once I've used this trick I don't know if I can pull it off a second time... but since Dreksa mentions on a few occasions that he's done something like "this" before (he says this after they've been imprisoned in the heart of a massive flagship and tells them exactly what they need to do in order to get out... including rescuing a member of royalty that they don't know is aboard yet. And everything that he lists happens... including having to fight some specialized guard or something like that before they can escape) I could probably have him acting nostalgic during the ship's handling problems and immediately noting the ship's handling problems, implying that he has served on a ship with a similar problem before. And most of the ships I come up with are usually short of crew, but this doesn't seem to matter much because most of them are so advanced that they could truly be handled by one person (Dreksa's ship is one of them).
      Incidentally, here's the crew list that I've figured out for the Artemis-class/Shepherd Junior: 1 pilot, 1 copilot, 1 main gunner, 1 navigator/communications officer, 2 secondary gunners, 3 engineers. Does that help any, or does it need a little more work?
      Also, the Shepherd B's name comes from the fact that some prior damage obscured the ship's true name, so they just called it Shepherd B after they fixed up their old ship. Shepherd B's full name? Shepherd Book. Yes, a Firefly/Serenity reference. I am a true geek.

Got your message, thanks Jairus. To be honest, like I said before, I just hardly have the time to actually sit down and read all of it anymore. But, I have now read the tech post and the ship.

Sorry for bugging you, but I'm glad that you seemed to like it.

All I can say is yes, I likey very much Punk settings FTW! The magic-powered 'technology' actually seemes like a more advanced form of Eberron for Dungeons and Dragons. And a question: Are these ships actually spacecraft, or just skycraft?

Yes, I love the idea behind punk. One idea I have in mind is a clock/steam/diesel/cyber/bio/magic (technically) punk story (yes, all of the above in one story: it might be just a little ambitious of a story). Anyway, I've never actually played Dungeons and Dragons before, and most of my major ideas (such as the shapeshifting High Dragons and a few other things) were set in stone before I knew anything besides that Dungeons and Dragons was a tabletop game. I still don't know much.
      As for your question: they're skycraft. The Empire might be working on a spacecraft, but I doubt it'd play into the story much if at all. I'd imagine that most civilian skycraft can't get above about a mile or so above the ground, while military models might be able to hit about three miles or so. I'd also imagine that most Skycraft only fly a few thousand feet off of the ground in order to conserve power.

Okay, any other questions or comments? If you want to know a little bit more about that Überpunk I referred to, I can give some basic info on my idea...

Hey! This is long enough to count as my post for today! I can go to bed early tonight. Score!

[Pagan]

What is "multiverse energy"? How's it different from regular old universe magic?
The puzzle piece was just a thought about a possiblility in your plot.

I think that's the second time I've seen "Avalon." Think you could do a bio page on him?

Never watched Firefly. Who's Shepherd Book?

[Jairus]

What is "multiverse energy"? How's it different from regular old universe magic?

I say "multiverse energy," but I guess I mean that it's basically the stuff that makes up the multiverse. It's really complicated, but the short answer is that the multiverse is not natural: it was created, whether by accident or design doesn't matter. It is, however, a type of magic, and it is a type that has some pretty impressive abilities... reality defying abilities above and beyond normal magic, which is saying something. Ultimately, it might be the current source of power behind magic, but I'm not quite certain. Mainly because it's something that mages have been debating and researching ever since magic was first discovered, and they have yet to figure out everything. Anyway, long answer short, it's just the stuff that exists between universe.

The puzzle piece was just a thought about a possiblility in your plot.

Care to share?

I think that's the second time I've seen "Avalon." Think you could do a bio page on him?

An entire paragraph of spoilers of an epic nature and hints at battles that would make Peter Jackson himself weep at the mere idea of attempting to make a movie involving them, and the most you can draw from the stack is "Who is Avalon?" Sheesh, what's with you, man?
...
Just kidding.
...
Is it "Avalon" or "Albion" you're talking about, by the way? I really can't give too much information on them. We're talking incredibly spoilerirific here (even more than telling you that *censored* is going to become one of the new Knights of the Realm... oh yeah, like I'd tell you (unless you really really really want to know)), but the short answer is that Avalon and Albion (twins, incidentally) are two individuals who when they were children were not powerful enough to save the life of a friend of theirs and promised each other that they would never be that weak again. Fast forward a few tens of millions of years... and it's not pretty. In a way, it's kind of sad when you realize that somewhere deep down inside Avalon is just someone who lost someone very close to her and just lost her way somewhere along the line... and then you realize that she is capable of the most vile and incredibly evil acts anyone could ever do (including tearing someone's soul out, sticking it in a suit of armor that is under her complete control, throwing the person's broken body out with the trash, and then ordering the armor to attack and kill that person's friends and family). Incidentally (I use that word too much, don't I?), Albion is a male, and Avalon is a female.

Never watched Firefly. Who's Shepherd Book?

Imagine one of the most badass guys you could ever meet in your life. Now imagine that he's a Christian Minister, who gets such lines as this:

Zoe: "Preacher, doesn't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?"
Book: "Quite specific. However, it is somewhat more fuzzy on the issue of kneecaps."

He then kneecaps a guy.
Here's the link to the TV Tropes entry on Firefly, and here's the entry to the entire page devoted to the Crowning Moments of Awesome in Firefly.

Um, did the new stuff on the Soul Blades make sense, or does it need work? Also, any questions?

[Pagan]

The puzzle pieces were Cory, him having to become a hero in your plot, that Nick is only the "first" of your main characters to discover other universes, the nature of the Kights and finally, there was a bit of plot scent on your topic of the Knights. So the possibility is that Cory has something to do with that jumpstart that the Knights so desperatly need. (I'm really hoping your first thought when you read this is "Boop.")
Incidentally, do you know of erfworld?

So, twins. High Dragons I'm guessing. But too plotsy to even say anything... Very interesting. And I noticed all the other stuff, it's just that "Avalon" caught my eye and most of it I've heard before. Though... you seem to have an obsession with pirates and ninjas don't you?

[Jairus]

The puzzle pieces were Cory, him having to become a hero in your plot, that Nick is only the "first" of your main characters to discover other universes, the nature of the Kights and finally, there was a bit of plot scent on your topic of the Knights. So the possibility is that Cory has something to do with that jumpstart that the Knights so desperatly need. (I'm really hoping your first thought when you read this is "Boop.")

Oh, you are so very very very close...

... and yet, not quite there. However, you do get a cookie. See?

Incidentally, do you know of erfworld?

After looking it up on Wikipedia, I now know what it is. I have to say that when I first read the word "boop," I thought you were referring to something like this: I thought it was an expression that meant "on the nose" or something like that.

So, twins. High Dragons I'm guessing. But too plotsy to even say anything... Very interesting. And I noticed all the other stuff, it's just that "Avalon" caught my eye and most of it I've heard before. Though... you seem to have an obsession with pirates and ninjas don't you?

Twin High Dragons indeed: Albion was white, Avalon was/is black (technically... it's complicated). And oh so very very plotsy.

And pirates and ninja are awesome. It has been scientifically proven through rigorous testing involving many studies of ninja and pirate movies and something called the "Holy Shit Quotient," which is found by dividing the number of times someone says "Holy Shit!" by the number of scenes in a given work. Why do you think that Dreksa's first extra-dimensional experience was joining up with a group of dimension-hopping space pirates?

Hm, now that I think about it, I don't know if Faeries or pure-blood High Dragons can form Soul Blades. Maybe only half-blood High Dragons like Dreksa can... I need to think this through.

And for the record, my first thought was actually Amber, and about how none of us know what's really going on behind the scenes or what the various plans really are... and how for a brief moment, I felt like I had achieved something like that.

Any questions? (maybe I should just add this to my signature)

[Pagan]

BoooOOOOoop! Dangit. Oh well, close enough to get a cookie.
You should read it, man. It's good.

Am I the only one that is not so hyped up on either ninjas or pirates?

You gotta tell what that's like then, I'd guess it's something like omnipotence.


Also! You once mentioned doing a lecture about the geography of Terra, but I don't think it ever was done, so could that be tomorrow's?

[Jairus]

BoooOOOOoop! Dangit. Oh well, close enough to get a cookie.
You should read it, man. It's good.

Hehehehehe. Enjoy the cookie.
And I will look into it.

Am I the only one that is not so hyped up on either ninjas or pirates?

Yes.
...
Just kidding. In all seriousness, they mostly turn up as a joke, and since you're just getting the bare-boned details they show up a little more often. Kind of like how from the info I've given on The Covenant Wars the actual war would be the central plot, but it's far closer to the B Plot than anything else. Dreksa's crew of pirates really serves to get him various places that he wouldn't be able to get to without some help.

You gotta tell what that's like then, I'd guess it's something like omnipotence.

Omnipotence combined with the urge to laugh in a suitably evil and dramatic fashion while lightning crashes in the background. I guess it's how Amber feels when we make our wild guesses on WTF's going on, though if she would like to post and maybe make a comment on what it feels like for her when someone makes a wild guess that hits on a part of the hidden plot...

I will say that Cory would make a great Knight of the Realm... provided he lives long enough to become one. Hehehehehe.

And that's your old Regina avatar, I'm guessing. It's nice, but I'm gay for Abel.

Any questions?

[Jairus]

Also! You once mentioned doing a lecture about the geography of Terra, but I don't think it ever was done, so could that be tomorrow's?

Dude, don't edit your questions when I'm replying to them! Just kidding. Sure, I can whip something up on Terra's geography for tonight. It doesn't matter as much as Belenus', but it'd be good to know where basically everything is.

[Jairus]

Um, just a quick tiny little thing before tonight. I drew this for the Invisible Friends contest over in the Arena, but I sort of realized that since I loosely based it off of some of my ideas, I might as well post it. I'm actually going to use this to get to work on finally designing some of the weapons. So, anyway, I drew and colored this completely with a normal mechanical pencil, which explains its poor quality. It's also not quite what I want for Stigmata, but it's a step in the right direction. Anyway...

Stigmata Concept

So, um, advice, comments, questions, and concerns are all welcome here. I really want to improve my style, so really any form of constructive criticism would be appreciated.

[Pagan]

Alas, I can't critize art as well as other writings, but I'll give it a shot.

As far as the actual drawing goes, there's nothing wrong that I can see, the blade's pretty straight and even, the hilt is portionate to the blade, the shading is clear. One question, how large was the drawing on paper?

You've said that Stigmata leans more on the techy side than the magic side, right? Or did I mishear that somewhere. And what's with that piece sticking out of the cross-section?

[Jairus]

As far as the actual drawing goes, there's nothing wrong that I can see, the blade's pretty straight and even, the hilt is portionate to the blade, the shading is clear. One question, how large was the drawing on paper?

About six inches long. Which is part of the problem with measuring with a ruler and shading correctly when you're working with that scale. My next one will be a few inches longer when I draw it so I can get a little more detail in.

You've said that Stigmata leans more on the techy side than the magic side, right? Or did I mishear that somewhere. And what's with that piece sticking out of the cross-section?

It's magitek, so yeah. Modern magic is a lot more friendly with magitek, and Familiars are the biggest aspect of it.
Um, long answer short, it's basically a magazine containing charged capacitors of magical energy that allow mages to perform big bursts of magic in a hurry. It's bloody useful on the battlefield, since it allows you to do spells that would take several seconds to charge up nearly instantly. Dreksa in his "normal" human form is little more than an immortal wizard who knows a ton of magical spells and has more power available than most people: Stigmata allows him to do more. And since Stigmata is also designed to perform spells on its own should the need arise, it can also use those banks of capacitors to protect its master. Those capacitors are based on sorcerers stones, with the exception that they're pure technology. I need to work on the design a little more, I know.

Does that kind of help?

[Pagan]

Indeed, though now I am very curious about these tech based sorceror stones.

And yeah, when it's that small scale, detailing is a complete ass.

[Jairus]

Indeed, though now I am very curious about these tech based sorceror stones.

There are a few different ways that I can see them working, and I don't know which I prefer. The first is basically a "bottle" of magical energy that is loaded into the sword and then channeled through the blade and into the mage who then releases it in a spell. The second is where a magical charge is converted into an alternate form and then converted back... into... energy... and...

And I just redesigned sorcerer's stones in my head. Awesome. But now I need to think this through...

Okay, the magical cartridges that Stigmata uses are basically "bottles" of magical energy that is compressed as far as it can. They're just magical capacitors, to be honest, so they're designed to "dump" their energy when made to and can do it in a hurry. They're really efficient and I imagine that they're designed to last for possibly months of not being used, but I can see Dreksa occasionally recharging them to make sure they're at an optimum level of charge. I can also see them having a small self-destruct mechanism to make sure that hyper-tech like the Familiar doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

And yeah, when it's that small scale, detailing is a complete ass.

Erasing stuff is the hardest part of it all. Argh.

[Jairus]

   Okay, sorry I didn't get this up last night, but I got home late and didn't have the energy to write it, so here we are. Terra's geography. This is even more disorganized than the stuff on Belenus, mainly because while The Covenant Wars traipses all over a continent and half a dozen archipelgos scattered around the world, the stories on Terra focus on Crater Bay and only occasionaly diverge from there. Oh well. Also: any suggestions for a name for the stories on Terra and about Cory and his friends?

   Okay, Terra. It has three major continents of about the same size, two or three mid-size landmasses that are vaguely crescent shaped and one of which extends around Meridos, a handful of smaller landmasses (think Madagascar size or slightly larger), and a ton of islands. The major landmasses are separated by bodies of water called the Strait Seas, with the Median sea between them: each straight sea is named after the two landmasses they separate, ie "the Meridos-Laros Strait Sea". They're organized like a triangle with the point pointing to the west. The one the story takes place on is called Meridos, and it's the one on the west point of the triangle. It's mostly a warm place, though some areas see snow in winter (like Crater Lake). Crater Lake, incidentally, is in the southern part of Meridos. Laros is the top-right continent, and tends to be cooler than Meridos: part of it extends up into the artic region. The bottom-right continent is Renfas, which we really don't get into... actually, we really don't get into Laros or Renfas... I just realized that all three of those end with an "-as." Anyway. The mid-sized landmass is called something like "Merian", and is considered a part of Meridos: it actually extends farther north than Meridos. The other two are in the tropic regions, and I don't have a name for them yet. The large islands are fairly scattered, and a few of them are sort of congregated in their own little area: this is the Osan Chain. Finally, you've got a buttload of islands - either solitary or in chains - everywhere. Seas tend to be named after the continent next to them. The major ocean is sort of broken up by island chains, and is more-or-less divided into three parts called the Meridan Sea, the Laran Sea, and the Renfan Sea: in modern days, these are little more than names, and no one really cares about the borders. The major continents have the features you'd expect of them, so let's not go into that.
   Government wise, you've got everything. Meridos has a number of city/nation states, organized into a sort of Confederation. Ghrezia is located in the northern part of Meridos. Laros has a handful of feudal kingdoms and a republic or two. Renfas is controlled by the Renfan Empire, which conquered basically every nation on their continent and made them into provinces: the provinces basically run themselves, but all of them ultimately answer to the Imperial Senate. The Emperor/Empress is more or less a figurehead (The Renfan Empire is sort of a combination of Great Britain and the Roman Empire). The predominant language is New Renfan, due to the political influence of the Renfan Empire (in other words, English). One of the crescent landmasses is ruled by a Japan-parallel that I haven't named yet: this area is next to Laros, so you see some weird cultures on Laros. The Terran Federation was founded about fifty-sixty years ago, and basically helps keep peace between the various countries: this is actually not really necessary, since everyone gets along about as well as can be expected. I also mentioned the Council of Beings, but since I've already talked about that I don't need to go into it again.
   I've also talked about weapons and tech and beasts and stuff like that, so I don't need to cover that either. The world mostly uses the Renfan Calendar, also called Old Royal, in which case it is 1774 OR. The year has 13 months of four weeks each (they use names that are a version of our calender and our weekdays), and the big holidays are the two solstices (Summer and Winter) and the two equinoxes (Spring and Fall). Each nation/country also has it's own holidays. Terra is a really magical world, so weird stuff happens all the time.

Okay, I can't think of anything else right now.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? WTF's? Ideas for my next topic? Possible names?

[Pagan]

I get most of this stuff, but I'm a little bit confused as to how to picture the globe. Could you maybe do a sketch of just the three continents and put it up here? Or just reiterate how the continents and seas fit together and maybe I'll get it.

I have an idea for your next topic, yes I do. First chapter of the Terran Story!

As for names... sorry man, but I just don't know enough of your plot to think up a good name.
"Knights' Rebirth" maybe?

[Jairus]

I get most of this stuff, but I'm a little bit confused as to how to picture the globe. Could you maybe do a sketch of just the three continents and put it up here? Or just reiterate how the continents and seas fit together and maybe I'll get it.

Okay, I'll try. Imagine a big Mercator projection map, with water everywhere. Imagine a triangle with one point resting on the equator and pointing left, and the opposite line perpendicular to the equator. Put three big continents at each of the three corners so that that corner falls somewhere within their borders, scatter a bunch of midsize islands about, add in three crescent-shaped islands that are about the size of Japan and have one of them be next to the continent on the left, and that's kind of what everything looks like. I'll try to draw a map, but as that sword hinted I can really only do technical drawings. At best you'll get a basic outline of what it looks like.
If that doesn't help, say so.

I have an idea for your next topic, yes I do. First chapter of the Terran Story!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, that's a good one! Whew... oh, man you just made my day!
...
Wait... you were serious?
Okay, just kidding. Hm, maybe. If that doesn't work though, anything else you'd like to see?

As for names... sorry man, but I just don't know enough of your plot to think up a good name.
"Knights' Rebirth" maybe?

Oooh, complicated plotsy answer. The short answer is that the character who becomes a Knight first doesn't do so until after this plot is over: none of the characters (well, pretty much all of them) even know about the Knights, and thus couldn't really join them. Does that help?

Okay, questions?

[Pagan]

That actually really helped, I can picture it now.

Um, yeah... that was serious. Though I do understand that it might not happen, so... hmm... got some more breeding rules? Or anything more to say about magic?

Alright... Hmm... like I said, I'm guessing about what might make a good name, so I have a small chance of having a chance of hitting the target.
... "CNTA: Cory and Nick's Terran Adventures"?         Just kidding! Would be so easier if I had the right ideas... for all I know, Cory's sister could be so vital, the title could be her name. "Out from the Crater"?

[Jairus]

That actually really helped, I can picture it now.

Okay, good. Glad that helped. Actually, I'll probably end up using my own little description to help me draw it.

Um, yeah... that was serious. Though I do understand that it might not happen, so... hmm... got some more breeding rules? Or anything more to say about magic?

No, my response was a joke in and of itself: I wasn't laughing at your suggestion, I was just being weird. I know you were being serious. Anyway, it might not happen for a bit, but we'll see. We shall see. In the meantime... hm... I don't know. Maybe I could do a quick character rundown of most of the major players like I did for TCW. Or talk about the secondary characters/villains of TCW.

Alright... Hmm... like I said, I'm guessing about what might make a good name, so I have a small chance of having a chance of hitting the target.
... "CNTA: Cory and Nick's Terran Adventures"?         Just kidding! Would be so easier if I had the right ideas... for all I know, Cory's sister could be so vital, the title could be her name. "Out from the Crater"?

CNTA? Oh dear. If I ever get this published, there would be slash pairings of those two within a day. I'll figure something out at some point. The story really is about this group of friends: it doesn't have a main character so much as it has an ensemble cast.