Rememberings #2

Mental Note #2

Sub: MMNTM

Project: Magnifier continued.

Project: Magnifier, entry three, day 21

Definition: Mental Bridging - The process of establishing a mental link over moderate distance that allows for instantaneous and understandable communication between individuals who are able to perceive such links.

Audio Memorial PM4: Status update: My wound has healed, and productivity continues! During my incumbency on Plane One, I saw fit to attempt to locate any other useful leavings of those beings who created the confluence that I will be attempting to transport. Thanks to my less than satisfactory encounter with the last Plane Two motive (lis. Audio Memorial PM3) , I am now seeking to understand better the way the other, non-horse motives of Plan Two communicate.

To this end, I deployed Burnsighters and located a series of constructed pillars, complete with inscriptions of some kind that may communicate language. This theory is untested, but not unlikely. Language, in usual terms, is the expression of ideas via mental bridging. However, I observed from my encounter with the horse that it communicated not with mental bridging, but with audible and visual cues. While audible communication can be helpful for recording information (such as this memorial), I have no reason to assume that I speak the same language as the Plane Two motives. I also have no reason to assume that the other motives on Plane Two are any different from the horse in regards to the types of cues used. My theory is that these pillars play host to the visual cues used in communication between entities that use such linguistic forms, if not the audible cues in addition.

As burnsighters are too imprecise to ascertain the details of any visual cues that may be present, and may not prompt the audible response that physical presence may, I am forced to physically manifest on Plane Two once again.

My last manifestation did not go over well.

In light of this fact, I have elected to monitor the first pillar and landfall site over a period of three days in order to perceive any patterns that may indicate a safe time to manifest. While I acknowledge that the loss of no small number of Burnsighters is unavoidable in long-term monitoring, I am of the opinion that the information gathered will more than make up for the peril I may later endure to replenish my supply. Additionally, physical manifestation may present the opportunity for some amount of reclamation of spent equipment.

Project: Magnifier, entry four, day 23

Audio Memorial PM5: End of day two of monitoring of pillar and landfall site. Both day/night cycles thus far have indicated that those motives that are inclined to be hostile are most active at night. I do not anticipate that the data of day three will be any different. As such, I have tentatively scheduled my Plane Two manifestation for mid day on the day after I have completed my surveillance.

During my long hours of staring through burnsighters, I found occasion to theory craft and test a few systems for frameless interplanar transportation. I have had little luck. While generating an interplanar tear large enough to bring the confluence from Plane Two to Plane One is a relatively simple matter of upscaling and reversing the system I use to deploy Burnsighters, physically moving the confluence is a somewhat more strenuous matter. Preliminary testing indicates that Plane Two, though not alive in the everyday sense of the word, is resisting my efforts to remove large amounts of matter from it. Solving this issue will require my full attention, and as such has been relegated to a later date.

Project: Magnifier, entry five, day 25

Audio Memorial PM6: I have experienced another bout of recall, this one much more intense than the last. I shall now detail the events that led up to said experience.

I was proceeding as planned (lis. Audio Memorial PM5) with my study of Plane Two motive inscribed characters. Having completed the three flybys dictated by protocol, I proceeded to manifest near the inscription pillar at midday. Once again, my Void Step system immediately failed. This phenomenon has led me to a supposition; Gravity is a constant on Plane Two. As I took the data from last manifestation into account, the failure of my Void Step system led to a drop of only two feet. Landfall having been successful, I proceeded toward the inscribed pillar.

My first observation on the pillar was that it was constructed from the remains of deceased flora. My second was that it was much wider and flatter at the top than at the bottom. I supposed that this was to provide as much room for inscription at eye level as possible. However, there were no inscriptions on the side that I approached from. While walking around the pillar, I noticed that the consistency of the plane’s surface changed somewhat. While at first I had been walking through the flora I now know to be called “grass,” I found myself on a mixture of sediments and a substance not unlike the pearlescent stone of Plane One. This mixture formed three lines away from the inscribed pillar, the first coming from the direction that the inscribed face pointed in, and the other two to the left and right of said direction. While I am still uncertain as to the origin of these lines or their exact purpose, I believe them to be groundcover to promote ease of walking. While this theory may seem non sequitur, all motives that I have encountered thus far on Plane Two use walking as their primary mode of transport. It is reasonable to assume that beings of any intelligence would want to streamline this process as much as possible.

Before I began my study of the inscriptions, I took pains to survey in every direction with my ocular lens bent to maximum magnification for any possibly hostile motives. As I saw nothing but a group of squat pink motives feed on the grass (ground foliage), I began my study.

After long hours of study and mental analysis, I had enhanced my ability to understand the inscriptions significantly. So much so, in fact, that I was able to ascertain the meaning and purpose of the pillar in question. It would seem that the purpose of the pillar was to provide navigational information to those traveling along the sediment/grey stone path that I had observed earlier. The path to the right led to a location known as “Dragonsworn,” (which roughly translates to “bound or given to large fire breathing reptiles”)  and the path to the left led to a location known as “Deltheria,” (which roughly translates to “Wooded Valley Mammal that gives birth to live young”).

By this time, Plane Two’s sun had set. Whilst I was musing about an exploratory foray to observe these valley dwelling mammals, I became aware of the audible indicator of something approaching me from behind at great speed. Having turned around, I saw a being with four legs, tattered flesh, and a dead-looking face pelting towards me. As I watched, the motive’s open chest cavity began to glow from a whirling ball of sparks within.

The moment I heard the sizzling of the sparks in the motive’s core, a familiar yet unknown system sprang to mind. The hand of my shorter arm tingled, and almost before I had willed my hand into motion, I was sweeping it in front of me, pouring energy into the system. The charging motive had slowed once it got near me, apparently satisfied at being in my immediate vicinity. The sparking convection inside the motive intensified. That point is when the kinetic wave that the system had released impacted it. The motive was thrown back, and then detonated in mid air with an explosion of surprising magnitude. I shielded my eye with my arm as the shock wave rolled over me, and in that instant was seemingly transported back in time by the sheer strength of my recall.

The explosion of the undead charger temporarily turned the artificial night into day. My hand still tingled from casting my last spell, but I had no time to rest. The legions of undead pressed ever forward, sheltered by the choking darkness summoned by their mistress.

I spun, whirl after whirl, arms spread, channeling the heat from the air and concentrating it in front of me. The air around me grew cold, and that’s when I knew I had gathered enough. I stopped spinning and screamed at the horde, and with my scream came fire. A cone of the risen were completely incinerated. The breathing room that their absence provided was enough to allow the foot soldiers to close ranks. The Thirian Guard had been fighting with great valor, stalwartly holding off the zombies and skeletons that poured forth from the gloom. However, they had gone unsupported until recently, when I and my kinsmen from Telthos had arrived, and were being worn down by the constant onslaught. Having repaired the most recent break in the line, I had a moment to coordinate the other members of my Cloak. While I was not the most senior member out of the nine members of my cloak, they all acknowledged my command in combat. I had the analytical mind necessary for strategy and more raw magical talent than most, if not all, of my teachers. Or so they had told me. I mused, in that brief moment of respite, that that was not the way I had imagined myself first coming to Thirian. My teachers at Telthos were so enthused by the promise I had shown that they were going to send me to Thirian to be evaluated by the royal mages there. But alas, all hell had broken loose, and my talents were needed to defend all that was good in this world.

The time for contemplation ended where I noticed a bulge in the lines. Another breakage was imminent, and, judging by the numbers of undead clustered at that point, I would need more than my analytical mind and a bit of fire to seal it this time. I needed help.

I reached out with the new Mental Bridge spell I had written and established with the other members of my cloak. Caethius was nearby, but he was more suited to bombarding the hordes from afar considering his powerful ice-based spells and advanced age. The only other members of my Cloak that I could reach where Yenna and Ardriel. They will do nicely, I remember thinking.

“Yenna, Ardriel!” I thought at them. They looked my direction, and I sensed their curiosity over the mental bridge. I pointed to the bulge, and they understood. We all converged on the buckling point and prepared our litany of spells. Yenna and Ardriel were a formidable fighting pair. Ardriel was skilled at magic that affected large numbers, generally allies, bolstering and reinforcing those on his side. Ardriel’s blessings could drive one to superhuman feats of strength, speed, and durability. Alternatively, he could slow the reactions of his enemies or blind them with pulses of light. Yenna, for her part, was an accomplished swordmage. She was in the habit of setting her twin swords ablaze, or coating them with acidic fluid. She would then wade into battle, relying on Ardriel’s magic to keep her safe and on the offensive. Their natural synergy was further augmented by the fact that they were a couple.

It was with these two behind me that, when the line broke, I drove forward. We formed a three man wedge and fought viciously out from our broken lines, trying to make time for the foot soldiers to regroup. Yenna was efficient as ever, but Ardriel was exceeding all expectations. I felt his magic surging through me, providing me much needed fuel to work the elaborate spellcraft I was fond of.

The mental bridge allowed us to communicate easily even in the midst of combat. I was curious why Ardriel’s magic was so strong. I remember thinking at him, “Ardriel, you are burning brighter than normal. Is everything alright?”  

“Yes. No… Spithrindetr went down.” came the reply.

Then I understood what had happened. Spithrindetr, the newest member of my Cloak and a burgeoning pyromancer, had been overcome. When a mage knew death was imminent and unavoidable, and had allies left standing, he would channel all his remaining power into one of those allies. Doing so would not only empower the mage into whom the magic was channeled, but resulted in the immediate immolation of the channeler. Such a death was preferable for many when compared to bleeding out after an arrow shot or sword strike. Spithrindetr had chosen to give his power to Ardriel. He pushed forward with us, defiant of the forces of darkness even in death.

So push forward we did. I had noticed during previous engagements that, if a witch came under threat, any near by undead would immediately come to her aid. In light of that data, I lead Yenna and Ardriel towards the nearest enemy spellcaster I could see. At first, a group of zombies opposed us. Yenna made quick work of them. Then, a pair of undead chargers rushed us. I knew that neither Adriel nor Yenna could put an immediate halt to the explosive opponent, so I waited until they had primed themselves, then threw them back with a kinetic blast. They blew a hole in the ranks of their allies, streamlining our assault on the witch. However, whilst I had been focused on the more immediate threat, a charred skeleton seething with dark energy had crept up on me. Before I could parry it’s blade with my kinetics, it slashed into my arm. I then ensnared it with a flash vine spell, but the damage had been done. The flesh on my right arm began to wither away, leaving only the bone. I had to isolate the infection. “Ardriel, help me,” I thought. He and Yenna then covered my sides as I threw up a quick system to keep the withering at bay, banish the pain, and restore the use of my arm, skeletal though it may have been.

That was when Yenna was hurt. In his haste to cover me, Ardriel had let the magic shielding Yenna falter. As a result, an arrow flew straight into her stomach. Ardriel rushed to her side. I, having patched myself up as best I could, surged to my feet and summoned another cone of flame. I incinerated most of the undead in front of me, but one of the shivering, warped souls blinked out of the way. At that moment, a bolt of green corruption struck me from above, searing into my chest. I fell to a kneel. Then I gasped and spluttered as the witches magic burned through my lungs.

I had fallen next to a man of Glaroz, one of the renowned hammer wielders. Is this how I too would end? One more body on the field of an endless battle?

I looked back, and Ardriel looked up. He was holding Yenna in his arms, her lifeblood staining the mud red. A wall of undead was surging towards them. He looked down at her, and then they both looked at me. The pair nodded, and then began to glow. As they glowed brighter and brighter, I felt more and more power flood into me.

“For Oen.”

In a final blast of radiance, they disappeared. I felt Ardriel’s magic flood through me, the bright white sparks of his life magic keeping me breathing. Then I heard the warped undead appear before me, saw it’s unnaturally black legs. My grip closed around the hammer of the fallen warrior of Glaroz. Under ordinary circumstances, I never could have lifted it, much less swung it. But with Ardriel’s strength flowing through me, and Yenna’s hours of practice, I found the way. I surged to my feet, dealing a crushing upward blow to the warped soul. The monster was sent flying back, and as it did, a blue, spheroid gem fell from it’s hands.

Despite all the power flowing through my veins, I could not stay standing. I fell to my knees again. I was more magic than man by that point, as Ardriel’s magic sustained me but could not stop the corruption. In a haze, I picked up the gem. I could tell that the gem would function as a system for spell casting. Systems where my own theory, part of the reason my teachers had thought me so gifted. They enabled me to cast spells only by thinking of the frame I would need, instead of using the hand gestures and incantations that other mages used. This gem, this pearl… it would cast a spell all on it’s own if I put power into it.

The witch was standing over me then. “You are a fool if you think you can stop us. Such a waste of talent. We could save you if only you would yeild to us. We could use you.”

That was when I began to channel into the pearl. At first, it was only my own magic. Then I clutched the pearl to my chest, letting Ardriel and Yenna’s magic flow into it instead of me.

I looked up at the witch then. My life all but gone, the last vestiges of magic I had passing into the pearl, I found the strength to whisper only two words, “...for...Oen…”

The pearl shattered.

A blinding flash of magenta-

The death scream of a witch-

The feeling of falling-

And then-

I snapped back to the present, quite disoriented. The breadth of my revelation drove the breath out of me, leaving me physically exhausted. Oen… the name echoes through my mind even now. I remember everything from that battle, but where Oen was, what it truly stood for, what other facets my life had aside from my spellcasting and my cloak… those memories still elude me. At that point, I was very tired and night was beginning in earnest. I summoned a planar pearl, but before I crushed it, I looked at it, truly looked at it, in light of what I had just seen and remembered.

Project: Magnifier may take longer than I had originally thought.