DUNGEON LOG - TELOVIA MINES

[phantasmods]

The day dawns bright and early - the same as most every expedition. The only difference is that you'll need to take the teleportation pad to Lodestone as a starting point - the gliders and drones are already there. There's clouds on the horizon, though, so if you're going to take a glider and go, you'd better get going.

There's some new additions, though, to the usual group of androids seeing you off. Tau is checking over the drones ready to carry those who can't or won't use the gliders, and Muon is practicing opening and collapsing the wings of a glider with bright yellow sails. She grins at anyone who approaches, shooting them a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about getting lost or falling behind! As long as Tau's here, they'll keep us all together."

And with that bit of bright cheer, it's off towards the mountains you go...

----

From the air, the remains of the mining town are almost impossible to tell from any other part of the forest. The trees - especially the old ones - are much thinner, and that's really the only sign of what's below.

But Muon's bright yellow glider, leading the way, dips down into the treeline before landing in an open space, and anyone who isn't paying enough attention to follow will feel their glider being herded in the same direction by Tau's power - control not outright taken, but more of a nudge, like, hey buddy it's this way. The group lands just beyond the border of the Fissure - a tiny stable spot in whatever's left of this world.

And a good thing, too, because landing in the Fissure itself could prove quite difficult...

Comments

[burninglight]

It's personalized as far as the magic of our world being ultimately limited to those of the line of Lucis, and that of the Oracles in a lesser extent. Of course it can be shared as you obviously know--which is where the lack of individuality you speak of probably originates--but it requires one with the power of kings as a battery. In your case, Kurama, though his Armiger defies most logic and reason. Myself and Izunia--and Noctis when he was here--are also all providing the same powers for others.

Generally, 'crystals' are the name of the game on top of that. Eos is littered with naturally occurring elemental crystals of all three types, and that's the main source from which one recharges their magic. More readily available sources can be used if those aren't available.

[foolishjustice]

In the case of our abilities, everyone's is unique...excepting those of Wildcards, like myself and Akira, who can use Personas other than the ones born from our own hearts. Even if two people were related, their Personas would have different forms and abilities that reflect what's in their hearts.

So, while cognitive tricks like the inventory can be taught, our true power comes from who we are. How a Persona grows and develops also depends on the individual's personal growth, if Robin Hood's revival ability is any indication.

[burninglight]

[Ardyn nodded slightly in acknowledgment as he listened, bringing a hand to his mouth in thought.]

No wonder you find the power of kings less specific. A complete reflection of one's self made manifest and weaponized is about as personal as it would get.

[foolishjustice]

I can't argue with that. Granted, it's a little less so in the case of four of my Personas. Wildcards are capable of taking Shadows from the collective unconscious into ourselves as Personas. They're less personal, but also less powerful.

[burninglight]

That's certainly something, alright. Your powers really are startlingly different from our magic. Ours manifests the same for soldiers and kings, but specializing in one aspect more than others is very common. For example, with elemancy my proficiency is in fire, and I'm a little more adept at warping than some.

[foolishjustice]

...We have that in common, a little bit. One of my innate Personas uses fire, though my true specialty is Bless and Curse.

Aside from Wildcards and our navigator, every Persona user I've met has had a single element they specialize in, to the exclusion of all others. Something like Elemancy is actually very powerful in the Metaverse, too, since elemental weaknesses can make a significant difference.

[burninglight]

Makes sense to me. The average monsters and daemons on my world often have elemental weaknesses, or weapons that are more effective against them. Coeurls are weak to fire, for example, and often daggers are the best to use against them to combat their speed while doing sufficient damage to fend them off.

[foolishjustice]

Some Shadows have physical weaknesses, as well. Ranged attacks generally work well on flying opponents, for example. Being able to knock them out of the air can make a big difference, especially since Shadows will usually try to bribe their way out of a losing battle.

[burninglight]

...They...what, sorry?

[foolishjustice]

Shadows are fragments of human psyche, and capable of communicating. If they end up in a disadvantageous position, they'll try to negotiate a surrender. Of course, it won't stop Shadows of the same type from attacking you again later, but sometimes they'll offer things you can't get by defeating them.

That's also how Wildcards get new Personas. If we manage to jog their memories, they can break free of the Palace ruler they serve and become a Persona.

[burninglight]

That's...hm. I think the word I'm after is 'unexpected'.

[foolishjustice]

I take it you were expecting them to be no more intelligent than the creatures we fight here?

[burninglight]

I have to admit I was rather imagining them to be roughly the same as daemons. Some of them displayed a level of intelligence, but they couldn't very well be communicated with to much of an extent.

[foolishjustice]

I haven't heard that much about daemons. I'm guessing they're too generally hostile to bother with communicating?

[burninglight]

They were...creatures of instinct more than reason. Spawned by a light-repulsed infection and driven by bloodlust. On rare occasions one might stumble across one still possessing some limited speech, but even then they'd be entirely singleminded and fixated.

[foolishjustice]

[He gives a slight nod.]

Shadows are quite different from that. They're born from the hidden emotions of humanity, and so can be prone to fixation, but they're not uniformly violent. I've even seen one Palace ruler use them for things other than guard duty.

[burninglight]

I suppose that's reassuring, in a sense. I don't know what it would mean if something like that lived in ordinary people's perceptions, but it wouldn't be anything good.

[foolishjustice]

Considering Shadows reflect the mental state of their owners, it would say some unpleasant things about the general populace. Well...I suppose unless their cognition was affecting them. If everyone who was aware of them believed them to be nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters, they might become as much.

[burninglight]

[Ardyn answered that with a laugh that almost sounded nervous, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.]

Sounds about right. Luckily, they don't really exist anymore.

[foolishjustice]

That's good. I can't imagine if ordinary people in my world had to deal with something similar in power to Shadows, and interested in nothing but bloodshed...