The Stormtree “Fulgerhund” is assigned a mixed Porter/Breaker designation in most Knots. Though lightly armored and absent numerous defensive and offensive systems present in modern golems, it continues to be a mainstay of both Stormtree forces and Fallwalkers.
Autonomously jocked through the Nether in most cases, the volatile power system connected to twin microfusion reactors is more a feature than a bug. Likewise, the pace at which it can accrue Rend is another layer to its eventual functions.
Striding across the battlefield from lightning bolt to lightning bolt, the Fulgerhund is a fast-assault transport for special operations groups, but more often its interior will be filled with expendable drones and mechs while it continues transmitting information back to the main elements of the Knot.
Other than serving as a Porter, the Fulgerhund can continue serving as a forward operating scout, or can start striking exposed or overextended elements of the opposition's forces. Though it can project electricity out to a limited range, the main method of attack is to shuttle matter across vast distances using lightning as a movement vector.
A final use for the Fulgerhund is as a “techno-thaumic” improvised explosive. This usually culminates with the golem at Rend Capacity, upon which they will stride in rapid succession until they rupture, and at that point, overload its power system to set off its fusion reactors. The resulting devastation is sometimes called “unzipping” due to how the lightning interacts with the detonation of a makeshift hydrogen bomb.
-Nether-stream, Arsenal of the Spreading Fracture
10-30
Cadre (II)
DOMAIN OF (LIGHTNING)
CANON: BOLTSTRIDE - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN TRANSMUTE THEIR PHYSICAL MATTER INTO AND THEN TRAVEL AS A BOLT OF LIGHTNING; EACH STRIDE IS LIMITED TO A RADIUS OF FIFTEEN MILES BEFORE THE CANON HAS TO BE REINVOKED
HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO STRIDE WHEN WEIGHING IN EXCESS OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TONS WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH
DOMAIN OF (MATTER)
CANON: STORMWREATHED - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN TEMPORARILY CONVERT MATTER INTO A MANTLE OF ELECTRICITY
HUBRIS: IF THE CONVERTED MANTLE IS SUBMERGED, IT WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH
Two canons.
Two hubris.
Countless implications.
For all the fleeing he did through Nu-Scarrowbur, his Galeslither was too vulnerable to interdiction from other spatial Heavens. His Woundshaper, on the other hand, was a little more than lacking when facing threats not of the overly physical variety.
Should the Fulgerhund be added to his current design he was curious as to how fast he could move when binding Boltstride to his already present canon of Haemokinesis.
The Stormwreathed canon was comparatively a lesser prize, but would allow him to trespass the borders between matter and energy, and thus a means of averting from the Strider’s cleaving light.
RESURRECTION - 71%
“Familiar,” the Woundshaper said, studying the Fulgerhund as the light-stitched warg drifted before them. “In a time before… in the times when we were once whole… we were of a pantheon. Of this, I speak certain. Now, we are all remade by lesser hands; mongrel bastards to our own lore.”
Avo regarded the words of the old god. “Will you join with it?”
The Woundshaper scoffed. “Of course. It would be absurd to abandon growth; purebred is another word for inbred, after all. Come. Come. Let us mantle the hound upon my spire. Let the stuff of storms serve us as mortar to my bricks.”
Soulfire needled through the Fulgerhund and drew it into the Woundshaper. Brightness built between them and with their joining did the insides of Avo’s Frame come alight.
When the smelting was complete, the Woundshaper spread into shape again. Arteries forked free from its structure in surging bolts. The shell of the Heaven, always an alloy of properties, now coursed with dancing arcs of electricity. Static-shrouded fur swayed low from the spire and the full maw of a snarling warg rose where once there were only jaws.
The Woundshaper thrummed with a current of excitement while its Hell grew blurred and strained.
Avo would need to boost the Hell as well. Presently, there remained potential yet for his Heaven.
HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER
DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 501 THAUM/c
It held a decent mass to it, but he could inject more canons. Much more, if he were to go broad. He had over two thousand and five thaums remaining, should he balance his Woundshaper’s Hell. Keeping a gulf of hundred thaums between his ontologics and maximum Frame capacity seemed wise.
As things went, the Woundshaper was an instrument of intrusion, destruction, and creation. With the Fulgerhund added, the chemicals of maneuverability and energy have been added to the concoction.
Now he needed more scale and control. More influence. More speed.
Unmaking one of the Sangeists, he drew forth its twin domains and offered that which was blood to the Heaven. He intended to enhance his Canon of Haemokinesis even more.
Alas, intent and ability were easily derailed.
INSUFFICIENT THAUMIC MASS TO ACHIEVE DESIRED MIRACLE
REQUIREMENTS: SIXTH-SPHERE LIMINAL FRAME
A pity. The Woundshaper did not bear the thaumic mass to allow the desired augmentation. The upgrade would have turned the multiplicative properties of the canon into exponential. Joined with Boltstride, the world might as well remain unmoving in perpetuity.
RESURRECTION - 79%
“Master, my suggestion, if you would heed me,” the Woundshaper said. “Our time is short and the threat remains. Instill me with a canon of grander scope. Our greatest limitation to full manifestation is the tactile. Grant me something that allows broader influence over my environment.”
Words heeded, Avo directed the domain sigil toward another use. The Frame ran its simulations and options danced across his gaze. He filtered fast and set his requirements high. He needed to expand his influence, as the Woundshaper requested. Something that would allow him greater influence over his environment.
He found it in little time.
CANON: SANGUINITY’S REIGN (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SPREAD THE ONTOLOGY OF THE HEAVEN INTO A BROADCAST OF HAEMOKINETIC MIST THAT WILL ALLOW THE MASTER TO DIRECTLY MANIPULATE ALL DOMAINS WITHIN ITS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE; THE BROADCAST’S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IS DETERMINED BY A BASE OF TWELVE AND A HALF SQUARE MILES MULTIPLIED BY THE MASTER’S CURRENT TONNAGE
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HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO MOVE AN MANIPULATE AN EXCESS OF EIGHTY TONS AT ONCE WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH
HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER
DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 825 THAUM/c
Quite useful, though costly in thaums. The continued limitation of his Woundshaper’s physical weight also inspired his annoyance. That was another thing bottlenecking his potential–the limitation placed on his total tonnage. If he could see that removed, his attributes would spike significantly. Yet, try though he might with his domains, the hubris seemed to come in relation to the canons themselves, each molding somewhat in relation to another.
He would need to mend Kae’s mind after this as soon as possible. It would not do for him to suffer an enchainment from within.
Installing Sanguinity’s Reign, veins of ebbing red spread from the spire and pulsed out from above the Woundshaper, electricity coursing through it in periodic instants. The new aesthetic shared some resemblance to a Ghostjack, and the comparison pleased Avo substantially.
Thereafter, he moved on to the aspect of matter and deepened the number of matter patterns he could store within his being, but froze as he studied the newest addition to his collection.
The markings symbolizing tungsten and locus were clear and stable structures. The mini-nuke, however, was a mess of different strings coiling in on itself. It looked like multiply layered scribbles pressed over one another.
“What’s this?”
“I am uncertain as well, master,” the Woundshaper replied. “I am unable to fully channel its nature in coherence. Shamefully, I have not ever tasted such materials.”
Avo paused. Zein wanted him to subsume the mini-nuke for some reason, but with her absence, he found himself confounded by why. The Woundshaper knowing nothing of fissile materials or fusion bomb components was not a surprise. It was a god of a bygone age, and these were only recent offerings granted by Voidwatch to their Terrestrial associates.
He sighed. Such was a problem for a later time. The time of his return was nearing, and he still needed to deal with the Galeslither afterward.
Thankfully, the choice for matters canon was a simple one. The Remembrance of Matter Canon yet had more tiers to its ascension, and Avo gladly offered it the bounty needed to propel it above the current bottleneck.
CANON: REMEMBRANCE OF MATTER (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN NOW PERMANENTLY REMEMBER ALL PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL MATTER IT HAS SUBSUMED; THAUMIC MASS COST FOR EACH REMEMBERED PATTERN HAS BEEN REDUCED BY A TENTH; ADDITIONALLY, ALL SUBSUMED STRUCTURES OF WILL BE REMEMBERED WITHOUT COST.
HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER
DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c
As he affixed another layer upon his pre-existing canon, his Woundshaper shuddered. His Frame quaked. The cage of orbiting patterns deepened into a nebula between the jaws of the warg. Faint traces of each pattern drifted through the Woundshaper, the indelible scripture of matter rushing through like white blood cells.
With all he added to his Heaven, there was still his Hell to consider. Parting the last Sangeist he had in his system, he added the domain of matter to his Hell, deliberating between its two canons before he settled on the barrage.
CANON: THE BARRAGE OF THE WITHERED (III) - LAUNCHES AN ENTROPIC CONSTRUCT FROM THE MASTER BEARING THE SIZE, SPEED, AND SHAPE OF THE WOUNDSHAPER AT MAXIMUM POTENTIAL WHICH CAN THEN BE CONTROLLED AND GUIDED; ALL PHYSICAL MATTER WILL BE AFFECTED ASIDE FROM THE MASTER - THIS CANON IS ABSOLUTE
HELL - [FOURTH CIRCLE] - WOUNDSHAPER
DOMAIN: (MATTER/ENTROPY)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c
RESURRECTION - 91%
Together, that would put his Woundshaper over the two thousand thaum mark, making him greater in ontologic weight compared to those he faced. Good. He needed to move onto his Galeslither now. He wanted to elevate its Hell past the Third Circle, at the least.
He could still install the Lushburners to the Woundshaper, but considering its branching domains and how easy it was for other Heavens of space to strike at it, a strange feeling inside Avo told him he didn’t want to overextend until he figured out what he was doing.
“We are arisen, master,” the Woundshaper cackled, as he shifted over to the Galeslither. “Already, I sense my current gnosis far vaster than the pebble I was in history. How kind a fate to be enchained to you toward higher apotheosis. How kind a fate…”
The Galeslither was comparatively a simpler job.
The Yondergales, though immensely useful for tasks that required a subtler touch, were easy to paradox by other spatial canons. There seemed to be a vulnerability shared among canons of the demiplanar variety - an incongruence against other geometry or correspondence-altering miracles.
Such a thing needed to be avoided, but he still wanted to keep a Heaven fit for the clandestine.
To that end, the joining was simple.
The Galeslither chuffed to life once more as Soulfire swept the Shadowcrawler close. An ink-black serpent sank beneath the flesh of the steed as two Heavens were joined. From beside galloping hooves burst the chitinous legs of clambering insects, and from storm-scarred ribs oozed a man of midnight black.
Avo continued working even as the Heaven gasped and awareness flickered awake within it like a candle.
“Ah,” the Wounshaper said, clicking her nonexistent tongue. “The mule awakens. Though mule is no longer a term so apt for you, is it.”The head of the center most horse had turned chimeric, blending into a creature fused between serpent and stallion. The Galeslither–or that which it became–spoke in hushed whispers like its words passed through enshadowed alleys by the midnight breeze. “Where… where are we… what… what are these…”
“Still yourself. You wake anew. We are bound for greater and grander things now.”“I don’t understand… I was… I needed to deliver… The pantheon tasked me to bring wind and rain…”“That is the past now, kindred. There are pantheons no more, but a new game has taken its place–a new ladder towards ascension.”
DOMAIN OF (SHADOW)
CANON: BLACKDIVER - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN COMMAND AND SINK INTO SHADOWS, MANIPULATING IT LIKE A PUDDLE OF WATER; ONLY–
Avo wasted no time. He smelted down another Shadowcrawler and added its domains to his current canons.
CANON: BLACKDIVER (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN COMMAND AND SINK INTO SHADOWS, MANIPULATING IT LIKE A PUDDLE OF WATER; ALL SHADOWS TOUCHED BY THE MASTER WITHIN A DIVE PERIOD ARE NOW CONSIDERED TO BE ONTOLOGICALLY UNIFIED, ALLOWING THE MASTER TO SURFACE FROM ANY SHADOW THEY HAVE DESCENDED
HUBRIS: IF ALL SHADOWS CURRENTLY CONTAINING THE MASTER ARE PURGED, IT WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH
Darkness flowed free from the open chasm of the Galeslither’s chest. The winds took on an increasingly wet quality. He fed the Heaven with two Domains of Space and let that expand as well.
DOMAIN OF (SPACE)
CANON: ABYSSAL COVE (II) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN BIND A DEMIPLANE TO A SPECIFIC SHADOW AND USE IT TO STORE ITEMS OF SOLID MATTER; THE SIZE OF THE DEMIPLANE IS 100 FEET DEEP ADDED TO THE DISTANCE THE MASTER CAN TRAVEL WITHIN A SECOND
HUBRIS: LIQUIDS CANNOT BE STORED WITHIN THE COVE OR IT WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH
HEAVEN - [GALESLITHER]
DOMAIN: (AIR/SPACE/SHADOW)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c
Whorling fluids mingled with currents of wind. The Galeslither twisted and turned. “What’s… happening to me?”“Growth,” the Woundshaper answered. “Ascension.”
Finally, he unmade the detached Second Circle drifting through his being into its baseline components and applied the procured domain to his current Hell. He manifested no new canons for he didn’t see the need–the Halt canon had proven to be one of the best things about the Galeslither.
It proceeded to get much better.
CANON: HALT OF THE PASSING (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN NOW ENCHAIN ALL VISIBLE ACTORS AND OBJECTS TRAVELING THROUGH SPACE WITH STASIS AND DRAIN THEM OF THEIR VECTORS OF MOMENTUM UNTIL THE NECESSARY REND IS BALANCED - THIS CANON IS ABSOLUTE
DAEMON: IF THE POCKET IS OVERFILLED BEFORE IT CAN BURST, THE RESULTING RUPTURE WILL BIRTH AN ANATHEMA OF RUIN TO SERVE AS THE MASTER’S ANATHEMA; THE ANATHEMA CANNOT BE SLAIN AND MUST BE STARVED
HELL - [THIRD CIRCLE] - GALESLITHER
DOMAIN: (AIR/ENTROPY)
THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c
RESURRECTION - 99%
Even with all his improvements, he still had over six hundred thaums left to fill. But time held its own demands. Avo could already feel fingers of eldritch bright prying him away from his Galeslither as he was slowly injected back into reality.
“Avo,” Draus said. He could see her through the threads of light swallowing him now. “When you get back out, get loud. We’ll find you. Got some ideas about how we can run this–how we might be able to handle Abrel.”
He wanted to respond, but his transition came suddenly and without warning.
The Woundshaper laughed. The Galeslither rattled inside him, like a terrified animal trapped in the stables of a sinking ship.
From death they rose, and as light shed itself along his eyes, he found existence around him as flame-touched as the subreality which housed his Soul.