[Art/Writing] Jairus: Merry Christmas

[shadowterm]

You could have warned me that this is like crack before I started doing it too.

[techmaster-glitch]

(and some Constructs)

YAYCONSTRUCTS!

[Jairus]

(and some Constructs)

YAYCONSTRUCTS!

Ah, so you're interested in Constructs? Basically, a Construct is an artificial being, like a Golem, Robot (a capitalized first letter indicates that it isn't simply a mechanical builder like an arm), or Homunculi (on some worlds). Familiars are technically Constructs, but they don't really count and are considered weapons/partners (more on Familiars later). On Terra, Homunculi are considered Beings, thanks to the hard work of Justine Price (currently Justine Cidney), and it is illegal to build one (the sentence is life imprisonment, since owning a Homunculus is considered slavery). On Terra, there are no laws preventing the building of Constructs, though certain types are subject to laws and regulations (Nick himself has a handful in his lab). Just ask if you want a little more info...

[techmaster-glitch]

Are you -really- making me ask for more info? Ok...

TellmeeverythingthereistoknowaboutconstructsandImightnotslityourthroatwhileyousleep...

[Pagan]

If I believe I understand Tech well enough, "interested" is not the proper word. His feelings on constructs are much more potent.

I get a gold star? Yay! *Shows it off to the rest of the class in glee.*

Witches. Craft. Technigues.    Wizards. Cast. Spells.      Alright, I think I get that now. I'm liking your system for casting, "triggers" and such. I always believed that thought should be most important in spellcasting, not some words or hand movement. And I think I grasp the concept of crafting now, thank you for the explanation there. And sorry for distracting you from your "goal for next post." My bad.

So warlocks... craft spells?

[Jairus]

Okay, constructs. In order, Golems, Robots, Homunculi, and Familiars.

      A Golem is basically a magical robot. It can be made of almost any material (wood, metal, stone, crystal, etc.), though clay is traditionally the "correct" material. Golems take a fairly impressive amount of magical energy to create and several complicated spells to create. Golems are basically programmed from creation to fulfill a specific task, and are very difficult to "reprogram" once they've been built: you basically have to strip a Golem down to it's most fundamental programming and rebuild it. Some advanced Golems are capable of some independent thought, and a few versions can also be more easily reprogrammed. One crucial advantage that most Golems have is the ability to gradually repair themselves by taking in the correct materials from the environment around them: due to some accidents, most Golems are programmed to only collect waste materials to repair themselves. Due to the energy trapped within them to power them, Golems are capable of using a limited amount of magic, but have to have spells programmed into them.
      Robots are basically technological Golems. They're usually made of metal, and utilize batteries or generators to power themselves and computerized brains. Normal robots are incapable of performing magic, though certain models are actually capable of doing so: due to their computer brains, robots of this type can learn new spells and perform them. Nick himself prefers robots in his lab, due to the relative ease of repairing and rebuilding robots. Very few robots are capable of rebuilding themselves, however. Certain units actually combine traits of Golems and Robots together, giving the best of both worlds. Robots are easier to grant "sentience" than Golems, so more Robots are granted Being status.
      If you've watched Fullmetal Alchemist, you already have the basics down about Homunculi. A Homunculus is built from the same component ingredients that make up a living being of a particular species. Members of the Homunculi race are fundamentally identical to normal members of the species that they're based on. They are essentially immortal, and cannot die of old age or disease: injuries done to them heal slightly quicker than normal beings. The only guaranteed way to kill a Homunculi is to destroy the "Pulse" that drives them, which is thing that they were originally built around: usually, this is either in their head or heart, and it has to be something to focus the spells that build them. They are also capable of performing magic and techniques, and are considered sentient unless they are deliberately constructed to not be so. It takes a massive amount of magical energy to "jump-start" a Homunculus, and in the process a Homunculi actually gains a spirt/soul. On the world of Terra, thanks to the actions of Justine Price Cidney, Homunculi are considered sapient Beings, and constructing a Homunculus is illegal.
      A Familiar is an AI-driven weapon that was first invented by Merlin Ydraigoch approximately 300,000 years ago. Every familiar includes an advanced and compact magical computer, that is capable of "remembering" spells and making it easier for mages to perform them. The introduction of Familiars revolutionized spell-casting, and completely leveled the playing field between wizardry and sorcery. All types of familiars incorporate some form of AI, though their level of intelligence and capability varies. There are six types of Familiar in existence: Proto, Boost, Cross, Assault, Intelligent, and Support. Ignoring the first type (which is so simple that Proto-familiars have existed for nearly as long as Arcane magic has (ie.e longer than 300,000 years)), the last three types are the most common types, and are used by basically all mages on worlds that have made contact with the High Dragons or the Knights of the Realm.

If you want a little more info about Familiars, just ask. A subtype of robots is the Frame, which is essentially a robot operated by a pilot of some kind (giant robots and their ilk, including the giant mecha-wyvern that Nick's got in his basement). Also, there is the little matter of the Dreadknights, Golem-like robots powered by souls removed from defeated opponents, of which only the most powerful member is left...

I get the feeling that I'm not going to get to Warlocks for a day or so. Don't worry about it: this is great getting it all out! And now you know why I never did drugs: the incredible rush from putting this down is greater (and healthier) than any trip!

[Fragmaster01]

Then mix the two, try thinking up worldrules while high! Then spend a week fixing the strange discrepancies you came up with or forgot.

[Jairus]

Then mix the two, try thinking up worldrules while high! Then spend a week fixing the strange discrepancies you came up with or forgot.

A shot of tequila leaves me with a headache the next day, and a beer makes it hard for me to sleep. I am not going to try anything harder, thank you. Okay, any suggestions for my next post?

[shadowterm]

You can try to defend the fact that you've drank beer and tequila at 20. 

[Jairus]

You can try to defend the fact that you've drank beer and tequila at 20. 

Sure. I didn't purchase said alcoholic beverages, but instead drank them at my parent's house, while under their supervision. The beers were drunk during parties where most of the people in attendance were my parent's friends, most of whom have known me since I was born: in other words, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I also wasn't driving anywhere for the next twelve or so hours, and would be asleep for several hours between drinking the beers and going anywhere else. The reason I drank the shot of tequila was so that I could understand what it would taste like - and its probable effects - on a 3'8" tall forty-five pound Elf/Human Hybrid named Nicodemus. My conclusion: two of them would be enough to completely knock him out for the night and leave him with no memory of what he and his then-current girlfriend did during the night back when they were in college.

Now, anything else a little more on topic?

[shadowterm]

Yes. Respect.

[Jairus]

Yes. Respect.

Um, could you perhaps explain that a little more? I also just edited my previous post, so do you have questions about something more in line with the world-building?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

FWIW, the effects of shots of tequila vary depending not only on your body mass, but also your genetic predisposition towards dealing with alcohol (some people's livers metabolise alcohol quickly; some do it slowly) and also how often you drink.

And then there's the being aware of the side effects and stuff, where if you realise you're getting drunk, you can balance it out, drink water, slow down, etc etc etc, and mitigate the effects somewhat. If you want.

So one shot, once, will give you some idea how a teetotaller will cope; it won't tell you much about how a habitual binge drinker will cope.

Just FYI. ;-]

[Jairus]

FWIW, the effects of shots of tequila vary depending not only on your body mass, but also your genetic predisposition towards dealing with alcohol (some people's livers metabolise alcohol quickly; some do it slowly) and also how often you drink.

And then there's the being aware of the side effects and stuff, where if you realise you're getting drunk, you can balance it out, drink water, slow down, etc etc etc, and mitigate the effects somewhat. If you want.

So one shot, once, will give you some idea how a teetotaller will cope; it won't tell you much about how a habitual binge drinker will cope.

Just FYI. ;-]

This kid's problem was that he had never had alcohol before and (like me) didn't know his alcohol at all, aside from general information. And his family (or at least his dad's side) has a bit of a problem about handling their alcohol, meaning that - even for an Elf - he has really terrible problems with his booze. Enough so that he hasn't really touched the stuff since then, aside from a small glass of beer on occasion. Waking up on someone else's couch the night after both of you have done something that ordinarily you wouldn't have done would be enough to frighten anyone away from alcohol for a while, wouldn't you say?

Actually Boxy, should I consult you further on the negative side affects of alcohol? I already know that that tequila left me with the longest lasting headache I've ever had. That's what I get for wanting to accurately be able to describe the burn. Then again, the taste wasn't half bad. Um, anyway...

So, I guess next it's either the Dreadknights and Mordred, or Warlockry. Who wants what?

[Pagan]

Warlocks!

[Jairus]

Warlocks it is.

      Warlocks are basically the leftovers of an ancient trans-dimensional magical war.
      They were designed to essentially serve as biological weapons and act in a variety of roles. The need was felt for powerful mages now, and a solution was created for the problem. Warlockry was created through intensive genetic experimentation and gene therapy upon sometimes unwilling subjects to grant them magical powers of a very specific nature. Each warlock has a different speciality in magic: some can perform elemental magic, some healing spells, some illusions... if there is a spell type, there is (or once was) a warlock who specialized in it. One experiment even tried to create a warlock specializing in the legendary Killing Spell (the subject committed suicide). Warlocks exclusively perform magic, though they can of course learn Witchcraft techniques. Each warlock is essentially an absolute mastery of the kind of magic that has been sealed into their genes. A fire warlock could easily perform almost any fire spell imaginable with very little difficulty. An illusion warlock could effortlessly project the most realistic of illusions. A telepathy warlock could easily break through most mental barriers and pluck whatever information they wanted from someone's head. Since this talent is tied to their genes, any child of a warlock will inherit their parent's powers, whatever they are: to see what happens when two Warlocks have children, wait until I post some of the breeding rules. Warlocks tend to be organized into clans of family members who share the same trait. Whatever their field of magic is, Warlocks can easily perform at a master level - or above.
      But all of this comes at a downside. Warlocks - despite technically being wizards - are unable to perform any other kind of magic. Full stop. The most powerful fire warlock in the universe cannot even perform the most simple of healing magic, and the most powerful telepathy warlock couldn't summon the fire to light a single candle. The only way for a warlock to perform magic outside of their speciality is to use sorcery, and when it comes to that they are just as strong or weak as any other being, and in fact tend to do poorer in sorcery than anyone else. Additionally, just because they can perform the magic doesn't mean that they immediately understand it: some warlocks have been driven insane because they never fully learned how to master their powers, and ended up losing control of them. It is also far easier for a warlock to lose control of their powers than any other kind of magic wielder, due to the threefold problem of the ease with witch they perform their brand of magic, the occasional lack of understanding about their powers, and a relative inability to perform any other kind of magic. Warlocks also have the additional stigma of having once been used as weapons of warfare, meaning that there are very few worlds where they are completely safe: following the completion of the war, most warlocks chose to flee to worlds that had never been touched by the war and hide there. There are only a hundred or so clans left in the multiverse.
      Incidentally, it wasn't always a type of magic that was sealed in Warlocks: some of the projects endeavored to seal tremendously powerful magical creatures inside of select clans, allowing a warlock to call on the power of the creature sealed inside their bloodline and use it whenever they saw fit. The additional advantage to this was that a warlock would be able to theoretically call on a wider range of magic than a normal warlock. This faired even worse than the regular warlock clans, as many of the creatures were a little angry at having been defeated and sealed within their opponent's blood, and frequently endeavored to mentally break every single member of the clan and take control of them. One minor bonus that was not foreseen by the scientists working on the warlocks was that so long as the bloodline existed, the creature sealed into it would also continue to exist. In this way, many of the creatures sealed into these select clans also endeavored to keep their hosts alive as long as possible, and would frequently enact terrible retribution on those who tried to kill them. These clans also faired significantly worse during the war, due in part to the afore-mentioned inner creature trying to break you and the relative rarity of numbers and the greater number of battles that they fought on the front lines. To my knowledge, there is at most five of these clans left in the entire multiverse.
      As a minor side note, originally Nick's mom Justine was going to be one of the few warlocks left, gifted with the spell called Spark Sight, which essentially allowed whoever used it to instantly comprehend whatever they were looking at. In Justine's case, she used this in her negotiations, while each of her children would have found a way to use it in their chosen careers (doctor, lawyers, video game programmer, adventurer/sorcerer, teacher). In Nick's case, he would have used it to instantly comprehend any machine he was looking at, thus allowing him to improve it and build his own version. This would also have explained why he needed sorcery to do magic. This idea was dropped fairly early on, and I decided that his family was just smart, and that he could focus enough on what he was working on to achieve much the same effect. I've already kind of touched on why he isn't a wizard in an earlier post.

Okay, what do you guys want to hear next?

[Fragmaster01]

Oog on the alcohol, I can relate there. My mom's side has horribly low tolerance to alcohol, which I picked up on. One glass is enough to make me fully s***faced. Then again, my brother can down three whole glasses of rum and only be mildly tipsy, so eh.(And before you shout underage o noes!, this was at said brother's 21st birthday with parents there etc.)
On the warlockery, I could see the warlocks falling into three different types:
The failures - Lack of control of power or lack of desire for power, causes nastiness, emo wangst, and occasional nukes of the warlock's hometown.
The overwhelmers - These guys are your generic quirky minibosses, who use their power in a manner most befitting a tank, aka working on using it to it's fullest potential and overwhelming any resistance that might come up to their power.
The manipulators - These guys, rather than focusing on the power and mana in their spells, think up neato ways to use their powers(as with a setup where they can use that one type of magic without following Magic A rules, they can figure out fun things with their powers to shock Magic A users).

Personally, I enjoy the third type a lot(I DM DnD3.5, so I spend far too much time making effectual characters). With enough time and effort, you could make warlock characters that are incredible badasses, despite being so limited in outlook(one of my favorite characters is a mage who, despite having low mana reserves and isn't very good at much else, is a master of space magic, and is one of the more notorious characters in the setting, having bested many overwhelmer types with teleportation alone, and also having worked out how to travel across dimensions(despite the huge amount of power needed)).

Alright, as for next, here's one I prolly should know, as it seems you've been doing this since before the thread, but describe the basic setting of the world, like:
General description of the world(s)
General style of races
Level of technology/magic
Notable events/things to worry about
Again, I prolly should know this, as others in the thread seem to, but might as well get put down here with the more specialized topics.

[Pagan]

Breeding rules. I can already picture Fluffly talking about Terra races... I'm actually laughing so hard I'm crying at that thought...

[Jairus]

Um, how about some basic information on Terra? Then some basic Race/Species information, maybe some breeding rules, and eventually White vs. Black magic.

      Okay, Terra. The name alone should hint at what kind of a world it is. It's basically meant to be an Earth-like world with multiple environments and nations: think your standard video game fantasy world, and then make it a little more believable. There's a fairly wide gamut of government types, from kingdoms to empire to republics: the main story takes place in an area of loosely-linked city states and provinces that refer to themselves as the Grehzian Confederation. The world is basically "governed" by the Terran Federation, formed of representatives from each nation: it's a bit like the UN, except they've got even less power. However, most power is concentrated in the hands of the Council of Beings, a group that was formed approximately one hundred years ago (it's the year 1774 of the Old Royal Calendar) that basically is in charge of relations between all of the different races: it's less of a Council and more of a protracted argument, to be honest. Everyone basically runs themselves though, which is a side effect of the environment that they grew up in. Despite the defined borders on maps, the areas between cities and towns are dangerous due to the various Beasts and marauders that wander the wilderness. Adventurers can frequently be found out here: despite the name, they're more like mercenaries who take it upon themselves to help travelers. The borders themselves are more of a formality: only the major roadways are guarded any, since the wilds between towns and cities is less important than the towns and cities themselves. Most settlments have a barricade of some kind, and often include full-on magical barriers for additional protection. It's a much more magical world than ours, and is populated by numerous Races (rather than the two (Beasts and Beings) of our world). The technological level ranges from medieval to near-future, again thanks to the separation between areas. I've already revealed that gun and firearm tech is behind ours (approximately American Civil War/WWI level), thanks to the fact that magic is slightly more effective against the various Beasts that attack. Airplanes do not exist, but magitek airships do. Cars are fairly simple early-to-mid 20th century things. Nuclear technology was never developed, so most nations are run on either magic collection grids, fossil fuels, or low-level renewable energy farms. Again, technology has been greatly affected by the existence of magic. Terra is one of the few worlds that were lucky enough to escape the interdimensional war several thousand years ago almost unscathed (for the record, our Earth was another one). In fact, few people on Terra are even aware of the existence of other worlds out there.
      The main locus of action is a place called Crater Lake, a small city built on the shore of an ancient lake that formed in a crater from a meteorite (hence the name). The place is a locus of magical energies, due to the massive amounts of belief built up around the entire area. Weather is fairly hot in summer, and snowy in winter. It is also fairly well-guarded: like most cities in Grezhia (that's the name of the territory they're in), there is always the concern of Beast attacks, especially of the Wyvern variety. Grezhia is one of the more technologically advanced groups out there, though most of the major nations have some fairly impressive tech. They have supercomputers and laptops, as well as primitive PDAs and digital watches. Video game technology is at roughly the same level as the N64. Early mobile phones have also been created, but these are fairly expensive and not many people have them yet. A version of the internet exists, though few civilians use it on a regular basis. The previously-mentioned Nicodemus is one of the people working to improve technology on the world of Terra. The town also hosts on of the various Academies that populate the work: the Academy could be considered their version of the university system, except that it also teaches magic and combat, depending on what you choose to specialize in after your second year.

      As for the difference between Race/Species, well I'm still kind of working that out. The basics are this, however: everything is sorted into what will either be referred to as a Genus or a Race, while a Species is the specific area. Basically, any member of a Genus/Race can interbreed with one another, with minimal effort. Extra-Genus breeding is a lot trickier, and follows some rules that I've been working out. It is believe that magic can give a little extra push to get everything to work properly. As already mentioned, the same species from different universes can interbreed with no sweat, so it is believed that there is some really deep form of magic at work that allows diverse races to get together and produce viable offspring.
      The technical term for the resulting offspring of an interspecies breeding is Hybrid, with the Hybrid's apparent species and ancestry indicated afterwards. The already discussed Nick and his older sisters are Hybrids. Nick is referred to as a Hybrid Elf/Human (he looks like an elf even though half of his genes are human) while his older sisters are each referred to as a Hybrid Human/Elf (they all look - and biologically are - human, even though half of their genes are elven). Incidentally, the term "Halfling" is about the most vile of insults you can give to a Hybrid: the equivalent on our world would be like calling someone the "N" word, if you catch my drift.
      I'll use Nick as my example for the basics of inter-species breeding (I use him a lot, don't I). His mom is a human (Justine) while his dad is an elf (Elian). The general rule for interspecies breeding is that either the child's species will be that of their matching parent, or the opposite. So, between an elf and a human, either all of the girls will be human and all of the boys will be elves, or all of the girls will be elves and all of the boys will be human: to be honest, it's a fifty/fifty chance either way, even if one of the Hybrid children then bred with the same species. In the case of Justine and Elian, the first example happened: Nick's six older siblings are human females, while he himself is an Elven male (for the record, at 3'9", he's considered fairly tall for an elf - most of them fall somewhere close to 3'6" or so). Were Nick to ever settle down and get married to a human and then have a son, the exact same genetic chance as happened before will happen again: it's a fifty/fifty chance that it'll either be human or elven.

Gods above and below, I'm tired.

Please ask questions and give ideas: this breeding thing is driving me absolutely nuts! Oh, and what do you want me to discuss next... crud, still gotta do Black and White magic... oh there's so much to do.

[Pagan]

Don't press yourself too far man. And thank you for the warlock article. And the brief breeding rules entry.
I would ask you some questions, but that might distract you from going on with white/black magic, which is definitly something I want to hear about.

[Jairus]

Don't press yourself too far man.

Are you kidding? I haven't had this much fun since the last time I went to Disneyland! My thoughts have never been this organized! It's amazing!

Okay, White magic and Black magic...

      All normal magic (Mana) is White magic. No matter what it is used for or who uses it, it is White Magic. In other words, it isn't inherently good. Nor is it inherently evil: magic is essentially a neutral force through and through, and what matters is the entity wielding it. This is magic as it is most commonly encountered, and the kind of magic that wizards, warlocks, sorcerers and magical entities use. Mana is essentially the energy of the universe.
      Black magic is born from fusing Mana and Energeia. Though the two disrupt one another under normal circumstances, by using an advanced skill (that somehow falls somewhere between spell and technique) and some kind of an emotional trigger it is possible to combine the two. Black magic could be considered the fusion of the energy of the universe with your own personal energy. It is much more powerful than White magic, as well as more easily controlled: even the most difficult of spells can be performed with little relative effort. Some of the most powerful spells in the universe (such as the Resurrection spell) can only be safely performed with Black magic. Since Black magic requires Energeia to work, there are a handful of entities that cannot perform Black magic (Faeries and Gods among them). There are some Constructs (the aforementioned Dreadknights among them) that can artificially produce Energeia, and thus can perform Black magic. The name is really more indicative of how it is practically the opposite of normal magic.
      All of this power comes at a few prices, however. The most obvious is that Black magic is physically draining, since it needs Energeia to work. Most mages can only use Black magic for a few minutes before they're physically exhausted, and then it takes awhile to "recharge." This time limit can of course be extended, and there are some mages who almost exclusively use Black magic.
      The second price is more costly. The initial emotional trigger requires that some fairly strong emotions be used. Fear and anger are generally the easiest to use to achieve this, and by themselves are not dangerous. However, continued use of emotions like these without being sure of yourself can gradually lead to mages being corrupted by their power. Much like how Dark magic relies on some pretty "dark" areas of yourself, continual dredging of these depths in pursuit of power is exceptionally dangerous. More evil Black Mages have been created because they both refused to be more careful about the power that they had gained and were unable to keep a hold of themselves. It is important to note that White magic can corrupt someone just as much as Black magic: it's just that Black magic's super-concentrated nature combined with the means of achieving it are especially dangerous to those weak of will. Most true Black Mages eventually learn how to achieve Black magic in a serene state of mind, giving them control over themselves rather than the berserker-like states that most early Black Mages seem to get into when they're in the full grip of their power and emotions: Black Mages like this are generally those who have mastered both magic and energeia.
      Three extra little notes before I leave you this evening. First, most mages at one point or another accidentally use a small amount of Black magic: despite it's relative power and despite the fact that it usually sends such mages on an attempt to gain control of such power, it is not really considered black magic, though some people are able to instinctively perform small amounts of black magic when they need it. Second, there are a number of Sorcerers who studied Witchcraft for the express purpose of gaining black magic, so they really don't factor into the previously mentioned corruption, since they're basically already like that. It is also important to note that any sufficiently strong emotion can help trigger black magic: a lot of mages have found that the emotion of love is the best trigger for two reasons. One, you are acting to protect or fight for someone, rather than just for yourself; and Two, any person that you are fighting for can help to stop you if you start to cross the line.
      Note that White and Black magic are different from Light and Dark magic. I'll get to those eventually.

Okay, how's that? Any questions? Any ideas of what you want me to talk about next? What about you, techmaster-glitch? Perhaps some of Nick's inventions...

[Jairus]

Sorry for the double post, but it's been about twenty-two hours. As I kind of insinuated in a previous post, I feel bad about myself if I don't get at least something out once a day. Today's topic: sorcerer's stones and philosopher's stones, as well as a brief discussion on subconscious limiters.

      Both Sorcerer's stones and Philosopher's stones are two similar and related yet distinct artifacts. Of the two, Philosopher's stones are far rarer and far more powerful as well.
      A Sorcerer's stone is essentially magical energy crystalized under the right circumstances to act as an artificial channeler of magical energy. Their name comes from the fact that they were originally invented in order to allow sorcerer's to perform magic with greater ease. In essence, a Sorcerer's stone is a conduit that can channel a set amount of magical energy at any one time, much like a wizard does naturally. Sorcerer's can use this channeled energy in order to charge up spells and spell arrays with very little effort, and in this sense they basically do what wizards normally do. Each stone has a limit to how much energy can be transferred through it at one time, and this limit is based on two things: the size of the stone and how refined it is. While the stone's size cannot really be altered once it is made (though it can be broken into smaller pieces), stones are refined through continued use: a stone that has been in use for decades or centuries is far more efficient and powerful than a brand new one. This is caused because continual usage of its power basically cuts the "grooves" that magical energy flows along a little deeper, continually making it easier to call more power through, though eventually all stones will plateau and stop increasing in power. Stones - much like mages (more on this later) - also have built in limiters, preventing overuse of their abilities: it is possible to temporarily deactivate these limiters to increase the amount of available power. It is worth noting, however, that too much use can be very bad for a sorcerer's stone, since deliberately over-extending a stone's power can actually damage or even destroy it, which partially explains the rarity of good old high-quality stones. The sorcerer's stone that Cornelius Ran'Sorato gave to Nick for his thirteenth birthday is an exceptionally rare high-quality Stone, of which there are only a handful on all of Terra. Nick himself also has a number of stones that he has created for experimental purposes, and his TF Reactor is essentially a mechanical sorcerer's stone.
      A Philosopher's stone is similar to a Sorcerer's stone in that it also channels magical energy, with one noted exception: whereas a sorcerer's stone can only channel magic when a mage wills it to, a philosopher's stone is always channeling magic into itself and then storing it. A philosopher's stone is essentially the most efficient battery in existence, and is capable of storing a vast amount of magical energy within it's matrices: it is theorized that a stone has a nearly infinite storage capacity. This massive storage capacity means that a stone can release a substantial amount of power in a single burst, allowing anyone who holds a stone to perform amazing feats of magic with little or no trouble: a decent-sized stone can easily grant master-level power to even the weakest mage, and in the hands of the right wielder a philosopher's stone can channel as much power as a god or Faerie. As an additional bonus, the stone refines magical energy to the point that it is incredibly easy to use. However, there is a price for this power: the more magical energy is stored in a stone, the more unstable it becomes, until finally it releases all of the stored energy in a single explosive burst. Though the amount of power than can be stored is potentially unlimited, exterior factors ensure that the more energy is in the stone, the harder it is to keep the energy stored. The larger a philosopher's stone, the more energy it can safely store. Most stones don't suffer this problem, since they are used on a regular enough basis to prevent this buildup from happening. However, older stones that are left dormant for an extended period of time do carry this risk, and more than one ancient temple or city has been consumed by magical energies because an explorer just happened to touch a fully-charged philosopher's stone at the wrong time. Most such releases of the stone have demonstrated the power to essentially wipe cities off the face of the map, and at one time low-quality stones would be used to destroy whole fleets of vessels. Fortunately, most of the designs for philosopher's stones have been systematically destroyed, and only a handful of grimoires still contain the directions to create them (for the record, the process, is essentially a heavily modified sorcerer's stone creation ritual), and stones can actually be destroyed if sufficient force is applied to them: as of the modern day, at most two hundred philosopher's stones are left scattered through the multiverse, while maybe ten or fifteen books still contain the instructions for their creation.
      As a final note, most mages have a sort of subconscious limiter on their powers (this was vaguely referenced when I talked about the sorcerer's stones earlier), that keep them from using their powers at their full limits in order to prevent themselves from being hurt by too much power (this is kind of based on how our own bodies work). While it is tricky, certain training can allow a mage to temporarily lift their own limits, increasing the amount of power available to them while at the same time causing some degree of harm. Much like how Black magic leaves a mage physically exhausted, removal of these subconscious limiters tends to drain a mage in more ways than just their magic, and can leave them vulnerable shortly after a battle. To be quite honest, this whole bit was kind of meant to "handwave" how at a crucial moment in a battle a characters can call on an inner reserve of strength and power: the truth is that they've just temporarily allowed themselves to access a bit more of their true power. This also tends to be an "on/off" thing: either the limiters are one, or they're off. And it's intentionally vaguely designed to allow a variety of ways of doing it... either that or I'm lazy.

It's funny... it's actually easier to write all of this stuff when it's 11:30 and I want to put something up before 12:00. Weird.

And after looking at some of Ren Gaulen's drawings, I'm wondering if I should sketch some of my stuff out... if I could draw, that is. Oh well.

[Jairus]

Okay, time for today's post! Now, considering that techmaster-glitch got a little obsessed over the idea of "Constructs," I thought I'd throw him a treat and talk about a few of Nicodemus' inventions, even though we haven't really met the Hybrid Elf/Human himself yet. Obviously, a few of these are spoiler heavy, so some of them will consist of little more than "Information is classified," but I think you'll get a little hint at what Terra's resident Leonardo da Vinci has been up to for the last ten years.

Note that these are only a few of the things he's built or tinkered on over the years, and doesn't include the Transit Crystal mentioned in a prior post.

Most of Nick's inventions are based around a combination of technology and spells, though a lot of his more common inventions use pure technology to run them. He tends to build things whenever he feels bored or overwhelmed, meaning that a good portion of his stuff was never taken beyond the prototype stage.

Cal: Cal is essentially a wrist-worn computer that has two functions. One, it operates as a link to his house-computer for quick access to any of his bits of information, and also allows him to order his computer to send him any bits of hardware he might need. Two, it incorporates the Master-grade Sorcerer's stone that he was given by his friend Corey for his thirteenth birthday. Cal is essentially a mobile spell book, capable of storing spells and rituals for use by Nick when he needs them. It is in essence a Familiar, with the exception that Nick has never encountered a Familiar in his life, meaning that he has successfully recreated a piece of technology that few - if anyone - has ever invented on their own. Cal has gone through a few versions, and has been steadily getting smaller and smaller as Nick's technique improves. It is still quite large for him, though (it would fit a normal human easily, but on his lighter child-like frame it's a bit of a burden) so he rarely wears it normally.

Laboratory, Level II: Nick's primary lab, built beneath the basement of his house. The area around Crater Lake is studded with caves leftover from the meteor impact millions of years ago. When Nick was house-shopping after graduation with the money from some of his inventions, he obtained extensive geological data to find a house as close to one of the large cave systems as possible. After moving in, he broke through to the cave and got to work, recruiting a number of specially designed robots to help rebuild. Most of the rooms have been converted into modern sterile settings, with bunkers and barricades in the event of an accident. Each of the rooms serves a different purpose, and thanks to the cave's somewhat erratic flow anyone not used to it can get lost in a hurry. His main computer is buried at the heart of the complex, and is capable of running his lab and his experiments while he is away. The lab can be accessed through an elevator hidden in one of his closets, and also has a few emergency exits as well as hidden hangers for his other inventions. The lab is powered by his Mark II TF Reactor, and is completely self-sufficient and cut off from the cities power grid. Water for cooling is drawn from the lake, which also hides Skipper's hanger bay. A well-guarded larger elevator is built into his house's second garage to allow him to move most of his inventions to the outside world should the need arise. Only his best and closest friends are even aware of his lab, let alone how extensive it is: Nick's private explorations have revealed that the cave system is at least twice as large as he is using, and aside from his security devices and pumps and air-circulation, he doesn't use those parts.

SCIN: Possibly Nick's most famous invention, the Synthetic Combined Illusion Network (it's a working name, I'm going to change it) fuses an Illusion/Shapeshifting spell with an advanced computer chip control board to offer unparalleled control over illusions. They are based on old-fashioned illusion charms and jewelry, but offer more control and variety. Scins typically are designed to help creatures and beings who suffer from certain stigmas or their ilk to help hide in a society that doesn't like them, though a lot of people use them for fun. They tend to be build into watches or pieces of jewelry, and most models only include physical alteration, though more recent upgrades include alterations for clothing as well. There is actually a fad in certain cities to use Scins to give oneself certain features, such as stripes or weird eye colors, though these are low-grade ones. The advantage of the Scin is how easy it works: it is designed to actually draw a small amount of magic from the environment, and anyone can use it. Mid-range models are the ones that are designed to hide certain features, like wings and horns and claws and such, while high-range models can alter whole species (and a few top-line experimental models can add things like wings or claws to Beings that don't normally have them). Notably, since it is a shapeshifting spell, the Scin does not confer the knowledge of how to move properly: Creatures who use Scins to assume a two-legged form often spend several days getting used to the missing limbs, and vice versa. All users are reduced to using the physical abilities of their transformed form, but retain their magical capabilities. Given the potential use as a means of disguise for criminals, certain cities have laws in place to prevent citizens from owning Scins unless they obtain a license for such: usually Creatures or Beings with certain features are given Scins for free in order to help them avoid problems. More wealthy entities prefer to special order Scins built into jewelry, making it easier to prepare for a night out. Nick has also been working with Scins that manifest armor and protective clothing, but these don't work as well as the equivalents already in use. Nick himself does not use them, even though he does have a High-level Human Scin that adds a good two feet to his height...

Wolkenschneider: Literally the "Cloud Cutter," the Wolkenschneider was one of Nick's first real inventions, back when he was fourteen. "Volken" (to preserve the proper pronunciation) is an enormous five-foot long one-foot wide great sword constructed for Nick's best friend Cornelius as his nineteenth birthday present (and academy graduation gift). The sword is enchanted with a number of powerful spells, including a handful of reinforcement spells, self-sharpening spells, anti-magic enchantments, and a powerful summoning spell tied into Cornelius' blood: he - and only he - can call this sword from anywhere. More importantly, Nick also enchanted the sword with a variable anti-gravity charm that makes the sword weigh only about five pounds in its wielders hand. Notably, the spell doesn't alter the mass of the sword, meaning that it still takes a tremendous amount of strength to wield it and a quick thinker to accommodate for the difference between the apparent weight and the real mass: Corey is one of the only people who can wield it without dislocating their arms. Shortly after Corey began to actively engage in adventures, Nick also added a number of enchantments to prevent Creatures from wielding the sword. Because Corey misheard the name when Nick gave it to him, Corey calls it "Vulcan." This is not only Corey's favorite sword, it is his signature weapon, and the one he prefers to use in battle.

T(hauma) F(urnace) Reactor: The TF Reactor is arguably Nick's greatest accomplishment. The TF Reactor works by absorbing magical energy and then converting it via a form of fusion into electricity, appropriate for powering a laboratory - or even a whole city, should the need arise. Most of the technology in the reactor is loosely based off of the magic collection grids that power some cities. TF Reactors are very efficient and capable of high power output with very little waste material. As for the waste matter (referred to by Nick as an AM Particle), it is easily stored and disposed of: it has a half-life of approximately one hour when exposed to normal outside-of-the-lab conditions, can only stay stable so long as it is stored, and so far as can be determined has no ill effects on lifeforms of any kind. The name "Thauma Furnace" is derived for an old word for mage, "Thaumaturgist," which literally means "Miracle Worker." Only Nick's friends and family know about the perfected Mark II reactor and all subsequent versions. The original Mark I was constructed during his fourth year at the Academy (when he was seventeen), and was not very efficient: it was a pure proof of concept only, and was deactivated and stored away shortly after he graduated. The Mark II was designed shortly afterwards, and is currently operating at powering his lab: it is fairly large, and takes up its own room in the lab. The Mark III reactor was completed two years ago, and is used to power Skipper, Nick's mecha-wyvern: this unit is much smaller than the Mark II, and incorporates a few bits of tech that the Mark II never had. Nick is currently working on designing and building the Mark IV, and when completed it will be small enough to fit in his hands.

AM Particle: Aside from being the only known byproduct of the TF Reactors (besides electricity), knowledge on the AM Particle is strictly classified. Nick refers to any technology incorporating the AM Particle as AMP Tech, and he only has a few experimental things that incorporate it. He stores most of the AM Particles in his lab for later experimentation.

Skipper: The somewhat-whimsically named Mecha-Wyvern that Nick invented as a weapon against normal wyvern and as a safe transportation device between cities. Powered by the Mark III TF Reactor, Skipper has no real power concerns: he also incorporates a handful of sorcerers stones to provide power for the magical weapons in his system. Like all wyverns, Skipper possesses four limbs: two legs and two wing-like arms. Skipper is capable of flight and has a number of high-powered spells build into him, allowing him to throw up shields and barriers as well as launch powerful attacks against opponents. The unit's cockpit is built into the torso, which not only has enough room for a half-dozen or so people to sit comfortably, but can also eject in the event of an emergency: the entire thing can be controlled by one person. Skipper has three primary attacks, in addition to razor sharp claws and numerous smaller attacks: Flame Breath (obvious), the Magic Missile Massacre (an attack that simultaneously fires hundred of Magic Missiles at a target), and a weapon referred to as CPC that Nick once commented was capable of killing a Low Dragon in one shot and a High Dragon in three. Skipper also includes a piece of technology referred to as an AMP Field that is powered by the Mark II's waste material, though Nick has never used this outside of testing: what it does is unknown. The current Skipper is actually the Mark IV: Nick currently has designs for a Mark V on the table, while the Mark I through III's fate is unknown (he moves the power core and memory banks over to each upgrade, implying that he dismantles the old one, though he has hinted that the Mark III only needs a minor refit before it is fully functional again).

DACA: The Delta Auto-Cannon Armament is an experimental weapon that Nick has yet to use outside of his lab. Information about the DACA is classified.

ROLAND: Not much is known about Roland (currently the Mark VIII), except that Nick has been working on it on-and-off since his days in the academy. Apparently it is purely technology driven, without a hint of magical power inherent to the main design. Aside from the fact that it incorporates thought-reading circuitry and will incorporate a Mark IV TF Reactor when it is finished, nothing else is clear. It is possible that he is planning to incorporate Cal - or something like it - into Roland, but it is not certain at this time.

Caliburn: An advanced version of Cal, Caliburn would be considered a Familiar if Nick had ever encountered one. At it's core is an old magitek crystal computer that he "borrowed" from the Academy's archives: considering that it wasn't even in the database, it is highly unlikely that anyone knew it was even there. Caliburn is designed in multiple pieces to allow it to connect into a handful of different forms, including a sword, staff, gun and attack tonfa, though currently only the sword mode is functional. Caliburn incorporates what Nick calls the "Cartridge Loader System" or CaLoS, which is basically a number of battery-like cartridges stuffed with magical energy to allow for rapid-fire spell casting without draining Nick of any vital energy. It also incorporates a system that could best be described as a copilot for his body: since Nick himself is by his own admission a poor fighter, Caliburn is designed to handle fighting for him by acting as an advisor in battle and directing his body to where it needs to go. This system is still relatively untested, and Nick is still working out how it works: it seems to be an artifice of the original crystal core that Nick reverse engineered to design Caliburn's core. Caliburn - when completed - will also include a sorcerer's stone to collect magic for Nick in order to aid in the casting of spells. All in all, Caliburn could best be described as a combination of all six Familiar types, something which for 300,000 years (since the invention of the Familiar) has been considered almost impossible. The current Caliburn is the Mark X, indicating how long Nick has been working on this. He is currently hard at work on the Mark XI, but he already has a few general notes for the Mark XII.

...

I just saved this to my computer, and it came out at four pages in Times New Roman size 12. Dang, that's amazing. So, um, any questions?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

"Do you ever stop?" ;-]

[Jairus]

"Do you ever stop?" ;-]

Nope. Anything else, my dear Boxy?

[techmaster-glitch]

Now, considering that techmaster-glitch got a little obsessed over the idea of "Constructs," I thought I'd throw him a treat and talk about a few of Nicodemus' inventions

I love technology. Technology makes me happy (blatantly points to screename )

This update made me happy

[Fragmaster01]

Nope. Anything else, my dear Boxy?

The not-a-box has another proposal, from thinking of settings of my own: What would be considered "holy grails" of magic, aka things that are famous among magey circles for being extremely difficult and (as far as common knowledge is concerned) have never been done.

[Jairus]

What would be considered "holy grails" of magic, aka things that are famous among magey circles for being extremely difficult and (as far as common knowledge is concerned) have never been done.

The "Holy Grails" of magic? Ooh, not a bad question. Okay, let's see if I can get something out of this.

      The trick with this question is that these "holy grails" differ from world to world. On Terra, the Philosopher's stone is a thing of legend, and might not have even existed: on other worlds, Philosopher's stones were used a weapons of mass destruction and terror. So it's more of "what are the holy grails for each world," rather than overall. But there are some general ones.
      Resurrection of the dead. That was huge. It was also one that was spread around a bunch of worlds, so this one is worthy mentioning. The Resurrection spell is quite old, and Modern magic could only add a little to it. The problem is that the amount of magic for the Resurrection spell is so massive that any mage who casts it will be killed by the spell in turn to complete the spell: it's a bit of a trade-off, and a significant flaw. Even with the assistance of Black Magic, there's about a fifty-fifty chance that it'll kill the caster as well. This problem was kind of solved at about the time sorcerer's stone were invented: a couple of high-quality stones can channel enough magic to safely resurrect an entity, though there are a few caveats. First off, you need at least one master-level stone (like the one Nick has... possible Chekov's gun there? (no, not really)), and three or more is recommended: for lower quality sorcerer's stones, you need a few more than that. You will lose whatever stone(s) you're using when you're done, so imagine spending a decade or so perfectly refining a handful of stones just to destroy them to bring back one person. Also, you'll bring that person back as they were when they died: if someone died of old age, they'll die just as soon as you bring them back. Life-threatening and mortal wounds will be healed as well, but minor injuries and non-life-threatening ones will remain, so you'd better have someone on hand to heal those wounds. It is possible that the Philosopher's Stone was invented so that one could replace the Sorcerer's stones with something that wouldn't be destroyed by the spell and could be recharged and used again. Note that this is the major spell: there are a few minor versions (like Revive or Raise (mages aren't very good at coming up with original names)) that can bring back someone who is recently dead for less of a price, but they're not very common. Faeries and High Dragons and a few Gods are the only entities that have the kind of power to revive the dead without killing themselves, but as previously mentioned this is really only useful when someone is killed violently or at a young age: High Dragons also kind of have this "non-interference" thing going on, but most of them quietly flaunt that rule when no one is looking, and they don't get into any real trouble for it (part of the problem is that if you bring one person back, everyone else is going to want you to bring back their dead too).
      Immortality. There have been so many different ways of achieving immortality that there's no way I could list all of them.
      Universal panaceas were common things to desire, so called "Elixirs of life" that could heal any problem. There are general potions that can it basically any wound, elixirs that can heal diseases and such, and a few other things that work, but no all-around "heal everything and extend life indefinitely" kind of thing... at least, not commonly known. There is a sort of "elixir of life," but it requires a Philosopher's stone to be used to create it (the stone is used to refine and charge the elixir, not as an ingredient), and since there are only a few hundred stones left scattered across thousands of universes and the instructions are slowly being destroyed and most stones that are found are either destroyed or locked away where no one can use them, the likelihood of the elixir becoming wildly available is highly unlikely.
      The Familiars I mentioned in a previous post were considered Holy Grails in their own time, while Nick's Caliburn - if the inventor of the Familiar finds out about it - would be it's own kind of Holy Grail for combining all six Familiar types into one weapon. For the record, the Familiar's inventor is still alive, and he would actually be glad to get to know Nick and see what he's done... especially considering that Nick is on the verge of doing something even he never did (though to be fair, he probably could have done it if he'd seen a reason to do it and devoted the time to it... he's a bit insane, to be honest).
      On Terra, they actually have most of the "holy grails," if you will. High-level attack and protection spells, regeneration spells, teleportation... you name it, they've basically got it.
      There is a kind of Holy Grail, but really so few people have even heard of the story that it's barely worth mentioning. There's a legend told about how buried somewhere deep within the multiverse is the heart of something that used to be a world/universe that was destroyed by its inhabitants in order to defeat some great something or other. Apparently, what's left of that world/universe is currently the multiverse. Whoever finds the heart of the multiverse Abyss could learn quite a lot about the other universes out there...
      And then there's the legends about a mystical weapon that can become anything and do almost anything and that it chooses its wielder and that those who wield it have the power to destroy a world and to save it... but really everyone has legends of a weapon like that.

Does that help any?

EDIT: Is it bad that every time I find a typo I dive back in and edit it? Even if it's just a missing period?

I love technology. Technology makes me happy (blatantly points to screename )

This update made me happy

Did you like the "DACA?"

[Fragmaster01]

Twas nice and informative, I was looking to see your reasoning on the resurrection one(becuase it's almost always one in any magical setting). Perhaps you could elaborate on why the spells take so much magic? What's the general energysucking quality of it?
(The one in my setting wasn't that it took too much energy, but that the soul would have rejection issues with coming back. Trying to apply a soul to a living body created by magic would cause rejection, and applying the soul to their dead body wouldn't help, as the body is dead, and the soul pops right back out. The answer came up with in-setting was to apply the soul to an inanimate object, then have the soul use spirit magic to manipulate itself and affect the natural world. This is quite limited, as the soul has to be good with spirit magic, which isn't a very widespread subject, but was generally invented by a character in-setting for themselves, so if it works for him, that's good enough)

[Jairus]

There's a couple of reasons for why the Resurrection spell is so difficult. You are basically pulling someone's soul back from nothingness, from the place beyond life and death. You are either creating a new body or repairing an old one. You are bringing this body back to life to the point that the soul can reenter it. The reason that the spell is easier the fresher the corpse is (think within a handful of minutes) is because the soul is still loosely tied to its body, making it easier to recombine the two. Note that a body hit by the Killing Spell needs the resurrection spell to bring that person back to life: the soul is severed so neatly from the body that Revivals or Raises will not work. There are also some curses that make it a lot harder to raise someone back from the dead. Also, if someone is Undead, Resurrection or Raise will not work: part of the definition of Undead is that their soul is still forcibly attached to their body through some unnatural means, so an Undead individual must be killed in order for it to be fully brought back. And all of this has actually been tested by scientists and mages under what basically amounts to a laboratory setting. Of course, since some scientists and mages have actually created minor gods in their labs, this really isn't all that surprising.

Incidentally, it's actually not that hard for a soul that's been ripped out of its body to get back together: all that has to happen is that both body/mind and spirit/soul have to want to be reunited, and they're come back together just fine. This is partially because the soul still contains an echo of the body/mind it once had, while the still-living body/mind still retain an echo of the soul it once had. Of course, bringing them back together is a little tricky, due to the rarity of a person who actually has enough will to keep going after their soul has been forcibly ripped from their body. This is getting into the metaphysics of these universes, so I'd rather not turn this into another two page treatise on the subject (especially since I've gotten like six or seven pages out today: that's more notes than I've ever gotten out before!).

Wow, that was one of the shortest posts I've made in this thread.