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

[foolishjustice]

Frequently, yes. Their appearance matches the owner's self-image, at least as long as they're leaving security up to their underlings.

[matchmakes]

Not so much when they decide to take things into their own hands, then.

[foolishjustice]

Then, most of them turn into a monstrous form more reflective of the way their mindset is twisted. The least dramatic change I've seen is a man obsessed with money for its own sake gaining fly-like attributes and behaviors. Most of them, you wouldn't even recognize as human anymore.

There was...one unusual case who didn't transform at all, but he never truly fought intruders personally. He simply sent wave after wave of disposable minions at them.

[matchmakes]

Huh, curious... do you know why that is?

... Ah, sorry for barraging you with questions like this, it's just really interesting.

[foolishjustice]

I'm not really sure. I can't really extensively study the phenomenon, since it only happens when a Palace ruler feels they have to personally fight an intruder. Though, it might have something to do with the fact that they typically represent the 'monstrous' side of a person's psyche.

[matchmakes]

Fascinating... It seems like it'd be something worth further study--

[...]

Oh gods, I'm starting to sound like Miriel.

[foolishjustice]

[He can't help but chuckle at that.]

Don't worry, I would be quite happy to talk all day about the strange ways the Metaverse works.

[matchmakes]

I don't suppose there'd be any way for someone without your type of abilities to check it out safely, huh... Well, whatever you'd like to talk about, I'd be happy to listen.

[foolishjustice]

Not unless you have some form of magic, instead. The Shadows that guard Palaces can't be harmed by mundane attacks, so people with psychic or magical abilities are the only ones who can defend themselves.

[matchmakes]

... Oh, that might not be so bad, then.

[He pulls his Thoron tome from his inventory, running his hand over the cover fondly.]

Magic does happen to be something I have a knack for. Wren is more gifted with it than I, but I'm certainly no slouch.

[foolishjustice]

Ah, what kind of magic can you use?

[matchmakes]

[Oh boy, nerd mode engage!]

I'm at the very least passingly familiar with most of the different kinds of magic used in battle in my world. The magic typically used offensively involves making use of elements, most commonly fire, wind, and lightning. There's also what's classified as dark magic, which often has additional effects of some sort, such as having abnormally long range, a higher likelihood of doing critical damage, or draining an enemy's energy to heal your wounds. Any other kind of magic is... rare, but not unheard of. Offensive magic is typically focused through a tome like this. [Indicating the one in his hands before offering it for Goro to look at.]

Healing is typically done with staves, though sometimes you'll find staves with other sorts of abilities, such as repairing a worn weapon mid-battle, boosting an ally's magical defense, or teleporting a distant ally to your side.

It's possible for magic to be used without a tome or a staff but it draws on your own life force and requires specific training. It used to be commonplace in Valm thousands of years ago, but it's largely died out since then. Trying to use magic that way without the training is... inadvisable, for obvious reasons.

[foolishjustice]

[He takes the tome and looks over the cover, before opening it up and flipping through it.]

That sounds similar to the kinds of things Personas can do, though we don't need specific tools for them. All of our powers depend purely on parts of ourselves.

[matchmakes]

[It's a very nice book. Loooooots of text in there, though. It's questionable how much is actually supposed to be read, honestly.]

I was under the impression that they at least looked similar and would pass as the same thing to someone who wasn't aware of the differences. Magic does require some aptitude, but even if you don't have much of that, it's still usable. And can probably be compensated for by using higher-powered tomes.

[foolishjustice]

In effect, most likely. Aside from the fact that it comes from a Persona rather than my own hand, an Agi skill and a fire-based spell look remarkably similar.

[matchmakes]

Perhaps if I find a Fire tome you can try it out for yourself.

[ROBIN NO]

[foolishjustice]

It would be interesting to get to compare different types of magic. I have several forms of it by now, but Elemancy is the only elemental magic I have.

[matchmakes]

I haven't really gotten to teach someone to use magic for a while now... I have kind of missed it. Perhaps if I manage to get my hands on some other tomes, we could change that.

[...]

Definitely something other than that one there, though. Thoron's really not meant for a beginner's use.

[foolishjustice]

From the name, I'm guessing it's lightning?

[matchmakes]

It is. It's the most powerful lightning tome that can be bought in a store. The lightning tomes are named Thunder, Elthunder, Arcthunder, and Thoron. Similarly, there's Fire, Elfire, Arcfire, and Bolganone and Wind, Elwind, Arcwind, and Rexcalibur. Dark tomes don't have as consistent a name scheme as the others.

... Lightning magic is what my sister and I are most accomplished with. We can use any type of magic generally, but lightning is what comes most naturally to me.

[foolishjustice]

Rexcalibur just makes me think of a sword-wielding dinosaur.

[matchmakes]

[... Goro can probably practically see that comment going over Robin's head...]

The spell itself summons a massive whirlwind... I'm pretty sure there's small shards of ice in there too... At least I certainly felt them the last time I got hit by one.

[ROBIN...]

[foolishjustice]

From the name, I would've expected a sort of cutting wind. Is there a sword named Excalibur in your world?

[matchmakes]

Oh, the wind cuts too, it's just minor in comparison. I read somewhere that it has a different name in another tongue that translates to "great winter" though...

Excalibur...? No, I don't believe so. I remember reading something in a history book about a tome by that name, but...