Chapter 21 - The Spirits, That I Have Summoned - The Unforgettables: A ZeroYear litRPG
An excited Petra ran to her room while activating the ambient communicators. Petra's room resembled a late 19th-century American farmhouse, with replicas of Thomas Cole and Asher Durand illuminating the space with their vibrant colors, in stark contrast to the wall that was an open window, showcasing colossal but darkened landscapes of Gate. Amanda was already on the other end, waiting for the connection.
"Hello, Amanda! I'm Petra!" Petra said, still activating the holograms with one hand while waving hello with the other.
"Wow! Wonderful images!" Amanda exclaimed, impressed by what she saw.
"Did you like them? It's from the place I was born." Petra finally activated her room communicator, allowing the Amanda hologram to interact with the environment entirely. Amanda had a translucent humanoid form with peculiar, clearly non-human proportions—shorter arms and legs relative to the rest of her body. Her hands had only two tiny, nailless index fingers and a bulbous half-thumb. Her pale, translucent body emanated a soft luminescence. Her face showed many lines, suggesting age, but she had no hair, fur, eyebrows, or any marks indicating she had ever had them. Her hollow eyes radiated a little more light than the rest of her body. Amanda wore a long white coat with elaborate geometric details on the edges and, underneath, loose-fitting trousers. She didn't appear to be wearing any shoes, and her toeless feet hovered slightly above the ground.
"Yes, beautiful colors and lights!" Amanda responded with what seemed like a smile. She continued. "But wow! You have excellent infrastructure in your place! It'll be quite simple to exchange the teaching materials. So, explain your situation and what you want with the tutoring sessions, and if you can give me a schedule and calendar, I'd appreciate it!" Amanda said, already picking up a terminal on the other side.
"Great! I'm learning my second magic from the transport school, and I've only been in Gate for a short time; I was revived in Rocatrista and am in the middle of a trip North, and that's where I met Mosh. Currently, I'm having trouble communicating with someone who could teach me. I need to perform complex magic as soon as possible, so I thought it was better to ask for help. Please excuse me if my questions are too basic," Petra said.
"Um? That's quite atypical. Usually, students have tests and exams before doing anything serious, but no problem. Technically, anyone can perform one or two magics in the first few weeks of intensive study. Which magics do you have in mind?" Amanda asked.
"Well, I first learned the Vo magic, and it worked out, but I've had a few incidents along the way." Petra smiled bitterly, pressing her shoulder with her hands.
"That's normal; did you end up going somewhere uninvited? These things happen all the time!" Amanda replied calmly.
"Not exactly," Petra said, pausing. "Look, I almost brought down a mountain with the portals. I didn't know they grew so fast and cut through the floor, and when I realized it, it took too long to control the speed. It was my fault; I should have tested it step by step…"
"Actually, your teacher is responsible," Amanda mused. "But that would be the case in my city! I don't even know where you are. Is your teacher from that city you mentioned?"
"Not a formal teacher. Everything I know about magic comes from Rocatrista and the Northern region. I have excellent material and have proceeded without delay so far. Something happened with my magic contacts from that city who could teach me, but I can't wait for that to be resolved because I need to use new magic urgently. Is there a problem?" Petra lowered her head, uncomfortable with the situation.
"I'll help as much as I can; don't worry about that; there's no problem," Amanda said, realizing the situation might be more complex. "But at least you could tell me what you intend to do with these magics, in general terms?"
"Of course. It's like this: I thought of using the Vo magic to take me and my friends to a safe place to train during the trip to avoid drawing unnecessary attention," Petra paused, noticing Amanda nodding and smiling. Petra then continued, "But we're being pursued by creatures we don't fully understand, so I can't simply teleport near Mosh or another city without putting the people around me at risk, and we're in a hurry to continue our training. Do you understand the situation?"
Amanda was impressed but responded calmly. "Yes, I understand. I suppose you're traveling in a dangerous place, but regarding the magic you're learning now, what's the problem?"
"Well, I thought of using the Va magic to open a portal to a new universe, put my Vo magic inside this new universe, and use this combination to get a safe and private place so we can train without drawing attention," Petra said, watching Amanda's reaction.
Amanda frowned, trying to think about the whole idea. She looked at Petra for a while and just blinked.
Petra continued, anxious. "I know the Va magic is dangerous, but I'd like to know what I could do. Amanda, for us, time is key, and I don't want to put other people at risk because of our situation, but if we keep training while traveling inside this ship, then we'll be the ones running a great risk."
"I understand; it's typical for us to use Vo magic everywhere. I even have a few scattered around the world of the living that I'll need to relocate someday. But accessing new universes is rather radical. However, the idea is quite valid, and I did something similar with my magic. I'm wondering if there aren't any flaws in your plan. How exactly do your pursuers manage to find you?" Amanda asked.
"They seem to perceive us and travel through the same places where we passed in the past, but they're a bit slow, so we have a good head start. We know they're following the exact same path we took, and I'll assume they can reach all the places we've been," Petra reflected.
"Okay, in that case, even if you enter a particular universe, after it's opened with a portal, it becomes part of Gate's universe, meaning that when your pursuers reach the point where you first entered through the portal, they could potentially enter there if they have the power to do so," Amanda said, massaging her chin.
"Wow, I hadn't thought of that, so my idea is useless?" Petra considered.
"Not necessarily. Particular universes can be immense, even larger than Gate. If your pursuers are having trouble reaching you here, they'll have the same problems in the other universe," Amanda conjectured, continuing after a brief pause. "What you can do is change the enchanted location of the Vo magic inside your particular universe from time to time, but never enchant locations near the entry point of the Va magic. This way, your pursuers will also have to move around inside the particular universe. Because if you stay in the same place inside your universe, they'll immediately find you, but if you are far enough from any Va or Vo entry points, they'll also have to move around in the other universe and thus be forced to keep entering and exiting."
"Look at that, what an interesting idea! Perhaps we can find a way to move ourselves within the particular universe to complicate our pursuers' lives further. Or maybe set up traps," Petra thought, getting excited again about the possibilities.
Amanda chuckled but reminded her, "There are several things to try out, but as you said, Va magic has many risks. I know only a few mages who actually use it for anything today. I've used it myself two or three times since ever, and only for didactic purposes; in my case, my universes are boring. They all came up practically empty."
"Yes, I'd like to understand this magic better, so let's take it step by step. What exactly does it mean to be chaotic magic?" Petra asked.
Amanda stopped and pondered for a while before saying, "Ah, I think you're using Nailia terms, right? That's not formally chaotic magic, at least not as we Suma name them. It happens that this magic has some mixed components, and its effects cannot be completely controlled, nor do they follow the usual parameters. In specific terms of Va magic, the greater the magnitude of your magic, the more powerful the effects, but that doesn't help at all in controlling what you're doing."
"That's right! We use materials from Nailia sources during learning! That means there's no point in spending more time trying to control the magic's result better," Petra said, noticing Amanda nodding affirmatively. "Continuing with my questions, does that experimental luck power serve any purpose?"
Amanda replied, very impressed, "It's curious you ask that because it's not something usual, but it can help reduce the chances that you suffer catastrophic consequences when using this magic. I wouldn't recommend depending on it; if you have the time and resources to train that power, it's an option; it won't hurt. The best precaution is to always perform this magic in the company of helpers and friends because, after finishing opening the portal, someone has to get you out of there if things go wrong. The portal always opens on top of the mage who performed the magic, and nobody knows what could come out of it. To make things worse, the mages used to lose consciousness after performing the magic because of exhaustion."
"Understood! Are there any other dangers associated with this magic? Are there any problems with testing? Because there are many observations I read about its limits," Petra asked, remembering the notes in the Vabala.
"Ah yes, there are several factors to consider. Each universe you access with this magic becomes part of Gate, and the consequences of this fall upon the mage who performed this magic. The mage must also be responsible for closing the portal once it's open, and that's not always trivial. The portal is a colossal circle aligned in the same direction as the local gravity vector, but it's much larger than other portals from the same school. On one side of this circle is the mage leaning against the hot side of the portal, which is where things enter and exit between the two universes. The cold side of the portal is inert and is on the other face of the circle; if something pushes very hard through the cold side, it simply passes through the portal without changing universes. To open the portal, the mage needs to stay leaning against the hot side for several hours, and there's no way of knowing what's in the other universe until the magic is finished; or almost—a few seconds before the portal opens in an explosion of energy, the mage will have some idea of what will come out, but in most cases, common sense prevails—having assistants to get the mage out of there as soon as the portal opens because only the mage can close this portal. To do so, the mage will need to touch the cold side for the same amount of time it took to open," Amanda commented.
"But then I'd be putting everyone in Gate at risk!" Petra worried.
Amanda couldn't contain a laugh but shook her head. "Don't exaggerate! At least nothing like that has ever happened, but it's not advisable to open these portals near a city. And there's more: unlike almost all other magics that exist, this one gets stronger according to how many times the mage uses it. One theory is that parts of the mage's subconscious interfere in some way in the selection of universes, always linking it to the person, and this implies that, whether you like the result or not, once a portal to a universe is opened, this universe will be associated with you forever, even if it has nothing inside when you opened the connection," Amanda commented.
"Ah, so that's why they named the universe Seneca 1335," Petra commented, to Amanda's surprise.
"Yes, I imagine you know Seneca; he became famous helping the City of the Dead a long time ago, back in the days of the Old Metropolis. But yes, your example is quite precise. When Seneca was hunted during the New Metropolis era, they found him relatively easily because he was a specialist in this Va magic; he even made some of his universes completely public, never imagining he'd be hunted someday. Whenever Biggus's people want, they can use one of the many portals to one of his universes and track him from there," Amanda mused, now more pragmatic. "Therefore, Petra, if you start connecting new universes, I advise restricting access to those you trust; you never know what awaits us in the future. In the same way that you can place a Vo portal to your particular universe, any mage can do the same, and the connection that links this new universe to Gate will always be linked to you; it will be part of your essence, meaning that if someone malicious enters your universe and finds the connection point, which is the first place where you performed the Va magic there, this person could reach you through certain powers."
"I'm understanding this better now!" Petra looked at her room's window, pondering the risks and realizing that perhaps they could try to find Seneca in other ways. "Anyway, I also understand that if I'm going to open several universes, the first ones will be weaker, right?"
"More or less, Petra. It's only potentially stronger each time you use it. What matters is that it will never be possible to abandon the connection with a universe, and that's why there's a limit on uses according to your current capacity as a mage. The more times you use this magic, the stronger you'll need to be to do it again, but the components of the universe you're connecting to won't necessarily be more potent. Another thing: the random component of this magic is strong, even in the first few times, so you always have to be careful," Amanda advised, already preparing some material on her side.
"Okay, I have one last question. I read about an option for the City of the Dead to pay for universes with rational beings; what's that about? I don't even know if it's a rumor," Petra asked uncertainly.
"I wouldn't worry about that; it would be like winning the lottery, but currently, that's impossible. But yes, if there are rational beings in your universe, as soon as you perform the magic, the spirits' field near the City of the Dead will be flooded with all the rational beings who once lived and died inside, but currently, the chances of this happening are null," Amanda pulled two volumes from somewhere on her side. The devices didn't allow Petra to observe the surroundings, but she noticed Amanda brushing dust off the volumes. She continued speaking. "If you stumble upon a universe with rational life, it will be impossible to keep your universe to yourself, so the City of the Dead tries to give some financial support to the mage in this vulnerable situation, but it's been thousands of years since this happened, and that's why almost nobody is studying this magic. After the cataclysm, I doubt there's any universe with rational life left because the timeline is almost always the same. But there is investment in this area. I will give you a sample of what we are talking about right now, and that could draw your attention in the long run. The most substantial part of the money for Mosh's project comes from trying to understand and explain precisely this—why there hasn't been enough time in the multiverses for life to appear and try to make some projections for the future."
"I understand; I'm quite inclined to perform this magic today!" Petra concluded, nodding affirmatively and smiling again.
"I noticed you're in a hurry, so I suggest you rest for a few hours beforehand because you might need to open and close the portal in sequence. I have two volumes of magical theory here to simulate this magic. Let's use the remaining time from our two weekly hours to do an intensive session and check if you're really ready; that way, you'll know what to expect from this magic, as well as what you should coordinate with your assistants—some tricks on positioning, among other things. Shall we?"
"Certainly! Let's do it!" Petra responded enthusiastically, even after a long night.
Petra and Amanda spent a little over an hour simulating the magic. Amanda corrected several details in Petra's style, but nothing very critical; mostly compliments on how advanced she already was. She sent Petra some notes via the comlink and two complete simulations with over 18 hours of videos of mages performing this magic to demonstrate the entire process—half the time to open portals and half to close them. When the time limit was reached, Amanda said goodbye and wished Petra good luck, letting her know she had another class immediately afterward. Now alone, Petra reviewed the new material before resting.
To Petra's surprise, about two hours later, Amanda sent another message via comlink, saying that if she was going to perform the magic today, Amanda would be happy to accompany her remotely, along with one of Petra's assistants, and wouldn't charge any extra for this accompaniment. Petra responded affirmatively but insisted on paying for the extra hours.
Before going to sleep in the morning, Petra notified everyone that she would be opening the portal at the end of the day after resting and sent Liora information about the most appropriate type of terrain for effect—a ravine with a steep slope so it would be easier for the mage to touch the cold side of the portal to close it afterward without having to be close to the ground.
Excited, Petra prepared to sleep and rest. Even before the others woke up, she sent Liora a copy of all the support material and said she would need helpers for the critical moment when the portal opened for the first time. Liora exchanged a few messages with Petra so she could pass on Amanda's explanations while grumbling to herself, realizing they would be stuck for an entire day for Petra to perform this magic.
The day passed atypically, with great anxiety and curiosity, as everyone discovered what Petra had done the previous night to prepare. They read Amanda's material while Petra slept soundly during the day.
A few hours before Petra woke, Liora found the perfect ravine. The ship hovered over the perimeter while Silas and Frank scouted the terrain with the aircar to ensure there was nothing within a few-mile radius. They reviewed the instructions for the assistants, which were actually simple: quickly remove Petra from the location when the portal opened and ensure a safe route if things went wrong.
When Petra woke, she was very excited and gathered all the necessary material that had been left next to her bed. When she left her room to have coffee, already carrying a backpack full of things, she found everyone waiting for her.
Frank asked, "Petra, are you sure everything's okay? Aren't we being hasty? I mean, I liked the idea of contacting Amanda, but wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer?"
"Well, actually, I could have performed this magic a few days ago; maybe I got carried away with the idea of asking Mosh and Amanda for help. I thought the following: it seems that the ship's camouflage has worked so far, but either we sacrifice it or we stop training for a while. And some other things came to mind last night…" Petra replied.
"I also think that the idea of contacting Amanda was good, but why such a rush? We could stop here and train on the ground!" Silas commented.
"It won't make any difference performing this magic now or waiting longer, so it's better to do it now once and for all," Petra concluded. "Silas, from what I talked about yesterday, it seemed that the benefits outweigh the risks; in any case, we'll stop in this region for a while. I can perform the magic a few times until it works; if it doesn't work out in the end, we'll train and then continue our journey."
Liora and Frank exchanged worried glances. Frank said, "If it makes no difference to prepare better, then performing your magic beforehand gives us the possibility to train in a safe place and continue our journey immediately with the ship, whereas waiting to do it later doesn't reduce any risk and will delay us a bit. But that's not the only issue; opening a passage to a completely unknown universe and knowing that this connection will be permanently linked to you, are you okay with that?"
"Yes!" Petra replied resolutely. "The most complicated thing would be an already inhabited universe, but I understand that's out of the question; otherwise, it would be a portal to a place we couldn't use. But on the other hand, if it works, we'll have a safe place; we can even use the new universe as an operation base while the ship continues its journey."
After a few moments of reflection, Frank broke the silence, "She's right! Let's get on with this!" Everyone followed the meticulous preparation instructions Petra had drawn up. Frank would stay by Petra's side to take her away if she fell unconscious; Silas would provide support a little further away to move her with his rays in an emergency. Silas would also be the assistant chosen to maintain direct contact with Amanda. Liora would stay in the aircar, observing everything from a distance, on the cold side of the portal, at an intermediate distance between the rest of the group and the ship.
As all of them took their positions in the middle of Gate's eternal and freezing night, an array of sensor and lighting devices spread its light throughout the region. When Amanda contacted Petra shortly before the scheduled time to begin the magic, Petra explained the plan and details to Amanda and introduced her to the others using a group video call. Silas immediately linked the region's sensors to Amanda's connection so she could observe in detail what was happening.
Petra rested the Vabala monolith on a stone beside her for reference and began the movements as she had practiced, entirely focused.
Frank said sarcastically, "For me, it was just a small bar stage, and you're using a Hollywood super-production. What a sight!" as he observed all the equipment assembled for the magic.
"If anything goes wrong, it's your fault for talking nonsense!" Petra grumbled back.
There are several versions of footage for this magic event, recorded from various angles and using different sensors, as Amanda's unexpected student performs such complex magic. The procedure took hours and required an immense amount of memory for the mage to perform it. Besides the difficulty, everything seemed to work perfectly. Petra even asked Liora to move the Vabala monolith away as she is not using it for anything, as her memory is perfect. After several hours, she sat on the stone floor while maintaining the magic with only one hand and holding her head with the other. Amanda needed to give no help and only offered praise to Petra on how everything was proceeding as planned.
Frank commented, observing Petra's ease with the magic, "Now that's a professional!"
Petra gave Frank a cynical smile and showed him the middle finger before returning to hold her head.
Time passed tediously for Silas and Liora, who were observing nothing happening on their sensors. Suddenly, Petra stood up from her makeshift seat and gestured with her hands over an invisible plane. A huge amount of mana threads appeared, rising into the sky in a coordinated mosaic; the portal took shape in front of her in a sinister manner as Petra began to build a colossus eating half of the horizon. The circle of threads emanated a faint light that reached as far as her eyes could see, its lower point touching the ground just above her feet. In a few moments, everything in front of her would become a passage to a universe hitherto unknown.
Liora observed from further away the network of faint red and yellow threads growing in size, reaching altitudes tens of times beyond the ravine. She commented via comlink, "It's been almost eight hours, and so far, we're fine as nothing on our perimeter reacts to us, but because of the size of this thing, we'll attract attention across a much greater area."
Amanda replied, "Perhaps. The magic creates a mana explosion in the end. These threads will all break at the same time, indicating that both universes have been inexorably linked. We should pay special attention to the after-effects because closing it will take as long as opening it so that it will remain open for hours at that same size."
"Team, I've initiated the final part of the magic; there's no turning back now. In a matter of minutes, we'll know if it worked," Petra warned, still full of energy, to everyone’s surprise. Amanda exchanged messages with Silas, asking about the training they were doing and saying that everything had been going smoothly so far.
Silas mentally warned, "Amanda says everything's okay, and Frank needs to get ready because, in a few seconds, he'll have to remove Petra from the portal entrance. There could be a violent reaction depending on the environment on the other side; in the videos we saw, that's what happened—a spatial vacuum in the middle of nowhere sucking everything inside."
The final minutes seemed to take longer to pass than the many hours Petra had spent performing the magic. Liora, already uncomfortable, felt a growing fear as she perceived the light becoming more and more intense, in an almost flaming red, and suddenly the heat and energy sensors went off. Liora mentally asked Silas, disguising the fear in her voice, "Silas, is this normal?" to which he replied after a few seconds, "Amanda's worried! Attention!"
When the magic reached its peak, Silas and Petra spoke via telepathic link simultaneously, Petra with a mental voice that somehow came out muffled: "Something went wrong; I feel my blood boiling; let's get out of here!" Silas said in a hurry over Petra, "Frank, get Petra out of there! Liora, get them both with the aircar! We don't know what's coming, but it doesn't look good!"
Petra was wide awake and full of adrenaline; she turned red and instinctively assumed her stone form. Frank grabbed her, and they jumped to the side of the portal just moments before it exploded in an intense red. From inside the portal, a pillar of metal gushed out at an enormous speed, almost horizontal to the ground, part molten and part vapor, at temperatures similar to the interior of a star. The pillar illuminated and devastated all the frozen ground of Gate, spreading into a lake of fire hundreds of miles ahead when the flow lost speed due to turbulence. Liora, seeing this, analyzed the data and was incredulous at the results. Before saying anything, she checked if Frank and Petra were really safe.
Even jumping beforehand, both were hit by the metallic vapor that expanded sideways. The metallic lava started exploding in some places like bubbles, spreading around the tube coming from the portal. The explosion of these bubbles hit both of them in the air before they reached a safer distance. Although this hot material had melted the ground near the ravine as if it were made of butter, Petra managed to shield Frank during the jump by deflecting the metallic vapor with part of her stone body. Falling to the ground out of the hot metal reach and at great speed, mentally cursing her bad luck. Petra didn't seem to be hurt by the molten metal, as she just started peeling off the crust that solidified, covering the left side of her body and ruining her protective clothes. Soon after the metal was removed, her lab coat began to regenerate as if it were nothing. Now, moving at a safe distance from the explosions, both seemed safe.
Liora reported the events, dumbfounded: "So, team, uh… what's coming out of the portal is a high-pressure jet of iron vapor and a liquid alloy of tungsten, osmium, and iridium with a lot of iron still liquefying as it cools. The explosions we observed near the portal that caught you both are the liquid iridium oxidizing in the atmosphere. I don't know exactly how because the reaction is highly catalyzed; maybe it's the effect of the strong magical energy emanating from all this material. And the explosions we're now hearing throughout the region are…" Liora paused, forced to observe a cataclysm in front of her. After the sound subsided, she continued. "The distant explosions are the iron reacting with the air. We can also perceive an orange-red lightning and a pyroclastic flow sweeping the horizon a few miles ahead. We also have a huge mass of water vapor evaporating along the entire path of the metal; when this vapor mass moves at high speeds, it also produces lightning, but those flashes are bluer."
Everyone listened to Liora while observing what was happening from a safe distance, and they realized that half the sensors had been destroyed. The things on the cold side of the portal suffered much less damage compared to everything else. They were constantly surprised by the ominous sounds of thunder and explosions. Night had turned into day in the entire region, illuminated by various sources of light as the molten metal radiates light and the iron vapor liquefying kept exploding into fireballs. There were also reddish lightning bolts closer to the metal, along with the intense blue lightning of the evaporating snow further away, complementing the apocalyptic scene with a plethora of colors. The group gathered on top of the aircar, hovering beside the ravine. The portal only opened in one direction, making the ravine a safer location. Petra mentally broke the bewilderment, speaking, "What the… Okay, I'm going to start closing this thing, but I can do it alone. I already took a metal bath today—not pleasant, but nothing I can't handle!"
The day's surprises were far from over. A roar even louder than all the chaos caused by the portal was suddenly heard before Petra had time to do anything as if coming from space—a sound of such power that moved the wind and made the snow tremble on almost all the mountains in the region, those that weren't being consumed by the metal gushing from the portal. Tension reigned as the group searched for explanations for that ominous noise.
Petra looked at the horizon and perceived something resembling a dragon, already illuminated by the end-of-the-world lights that had spread through the land. Like a missile, the creature berserks toward them. Frank and Petra grab their Flexoclavas and look at each other once again, already knowing what awaits them. Frank says before the storm, "Look on the bright side! After all, your magic really did make a dragon appear!"
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Name: Silas "Archon" Cade Species: Ebex XP: 56+2 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 1 Super-Energy Magnitude 5 Super-Resistance (ebex) Magnitude 1 Super-Technique Magnitude 21 Unknowledge (ebex) Magnitude 2 Superior Technology: Architect Magnitude 24 Natural Combined Armor (ebex) - Know it all (party) - Skills Traditional Dancing (Dex) +2 Mathematics (Int) +4 Computer Engineering (Tech) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 9222(0) Equipment Superior safety clothes (AC 3) Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry), resized Silas´ Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) Other 3 credits on Paradiso account 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Flight surveillance drones (1x, normal tech) Airbike, speed +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech): Following 4 Golens Aircar, perception +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech)
Schrogae 5-engine cargo airship: life support +4, capacity +7, maneuver +7, speed up +7, flight (.01c normal tech), space flight (.5c sub-light, normal tech), stealth +3(superior tech 1000/1000), inertial stabilizer +4, gravity engine +7, Energy cells battery x10 (superior tech, 10 TP charge, 100/100), Advanced Auto-Repair (superior tech, prototype bonus+, 20/20, consume 2 TP to regen 20 HP, or make 2 rolls to repair devices except for berserker mode+), Double-layered full armor (superior tech, AC 4, 200/200), 2x Energy positional shields (superior tech, 2 parry, 500/500), Structures (superior tech, 2000/2000 HP, 2000/2000), long-range scan +2 (superior tech, 1000/1000), short-range communicators +2(superior tech, 100/100),
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2x turret 9th sentinel artillery/ranged (1/2) (superior tech, 120 fixed, Art.Rng., Hit: Dex/Tech, infinite ammo, 5000/5000),
Main gun - plasma cannon 5th generation shooter x4 (1/4) (superior tech, 10, Rng., Hit: Dex, infinite ammo, 6400/6400),
*berserker mode[*non-newtonian liquid atmosphere +4 (10000/10000), *tech meld interface 4x Tech/Dex/Str/Res (160000/160000), *8th circle retro-plasma saber x4 (2d12+1, Mle., Hit: Dex, infinite ammo, 10000/10000), *Avatar AI (superior tech, all Atts+4, 90000/90000)]
Name: Liora “Stardust” Gorgath Species: Oioioi XP: 55+2 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 2 Super-Energy Magnitude 5 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 45 Shardify (oioioi) Magnitude 1 Superior Technology Network (oioioi) - Structural (oioioi) - Know it all (party) - Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Informatics (Wis) +4 Streetwise (Cha) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 8667 (0) Equipment Double-trouble (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn, prototype (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) Other Secure private network nano-connector Mk1: enables connection with Mag1 safety 2 credits on Paradiso account 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Survival kit (fuel cube, shelter cube)
Name: Petra "Warden" Somerson Species: Human XP: 54+2 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 10 Super-Mana Magnitude 3 Super-Strength Magnitude 1 Super-Resistance Magnitude 26 Super-Wisdom Magnitude 5 Super-Constitution Magnitude 4 Spellcasting Magnitude 3 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Res) +4 Shooting (Dex) +4 Military Discipline (Mor) +4 Tang Soo Do (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) School of Transport(v_) (Wis) +2 33/100 - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 5336 (0) Equipment 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn Sci-lab jacket (AC 3), regen, prototype (quirk: AC 2 to magical defense) Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry) Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Trained Magic (vo) The Door of Returning: Enchant a stone to serve as an anchor; a mage can have up to Mag stones enchanted at the same time. After being enchanted, at any time, the mage can open or close a flat circular immobile portal of up to Mag Km in radius at a distance of ~10 meters from this stone; the mage chooses, for each portal entry, if the portal is one-way, two-ways, one-side, or both-sides at will, need 1 action to change those parameters. When the portal near the stone opens, at the same time, this spell also opens an identical-sized portal at a distance of ~10 meters from the mage who cast this; those portals are spatial distortions and connect the two places; this effect ignores everything. The portal takes approximately 1 minute to open or close entirely for each Km in radius (minimum of 5 seconds or 1 action); the spell consumes mana (Mag MP) only to enchant the stone, and only actions are spent to open or close each of the portals. For 1 MP cost, the mage can make the stone ethereal and meld it with any inanimate object or terrain, permanently placing the stone anchor on its melded target. Each portal pair can have different colors, chosen by the mage at the casting time. If the mage tries to force a closing door upon an object/target crossing the portals to damage it (the mage can always bring some stones already enchanted and open/close local portal pairs at will, both at ~10 meters from the mage, on melee range), it must roll Wis(or Tech) vs. Dex to hit the target; on a successful hit, the portal grapples the target (Str vs. Wis roll to break free, grappled targets must expend one action for each try to fight the portal). The portal does Mag+Wis, crushing magical damage each turn until it breaks the grappled target and closes. If the mage uses any number of portals at the same time, puts one portal inside another, opens portals crossing entry and exit points, or makes any creative combination of portals to split or smash targets, the result may change, but hit rolls and damage totals caused solely by the portals apply the same way and do not stack. Range: You must touch the stone to enchant it; after that, ~10 meters to open/close portals. The distance between paired portals is infinite (the distance between the mage and the anchor). Target: One stone, or at an extra 1MP cost, any inanimate object or location melding the stone into it. Duration: Infinite on every instance, even in extreme cases where the mage dies, the portals remain in the last state forever since no mana is needed to maintain those (the portals may remain opened forever), but only the mage can modify them (including opening/closing). Tags: Enchantment, Disenchant (Mag MP, must touch the stone or place)
(va) Fiat Lux: Every time this magic spell is cast, one pocket universe is accessed by the mage over an infinite range of options. One and only one mage may first access each of those pocket universes using this spell, and any other power could not first access those universes in any other way nor even gather any information about them. Still, after the link is made, other forms of contact could be implemented using any other power or tool available for such things, but only after the first contact (after the spell is cast successfully). All rational beings, dead or alive, that ever existed in that pocket universe are linked to Gate and Umbra after the first contact and could be brought back to life as usual. This means that if the pocket universe once supported rational life, access to this pocket universe could leak in spite of the mage that first opens a portal to it. To define the overall parameters of each universe, 3 rolls will be made: the first roll is entirely random, a chaos roll (d20) that modifies the rolled entry every time this spell is cast. The second roll is a Luck roll for control (the mage's overall intention with that spell), and usually, this is the most crucial roll for this spell. The third and last roll is another chaos roll (d20) that modifies the entry when it is cast, but this time, it improves or modifies the universe parameters based on Magnitude. As this magic nature is a mix of balance and chaos essences, the effects could never be controlled the way most of the other spells are. A mage can only open such portals up to Wisdom's different universes, and once the connection is made the first time, it is perpetual and permanent; this effect ignores everything, so if the mage wants to open portals to new universes and is already at its limits, the mage needs to train Wisdom before doing so. To open a single portal, the mage needs to spend the total mana cost (Mag) at the casting start, and it takes at least 8 hours to finish casting it. During all this time, the mage can do nothing else and must always be touching the portal; failing to do so makes the spell fail, and the mage must restart it all over again; the mage may need a Constitution roll vs. Mag to not fall unconscious after each casting. The portal is a perfect circle of (Magnitude + Wisdom) Kilometers radius that the mage positions at the start of the casting (usually, the mage sits on a wide-open area, and the portal starts to grow in size upwards, it reaches maximum size in minutes, shortly afterward wild magic effects and visuals start to react with the portal during the entire process making an ominous view, giving faint hints of what the results may be when it is finished). It is always a one-side portal (hot face always facing the mage to open, and the cold face to close) and a two-way (mage universe and pocket universe in-out connection). Besides the fantastic visual effects, the portal does not interact with reality in both universes until the casting ends. The cold side of the portal is inert on both openings (mages universe and new universe openings). Suppose a strong force starts to do significant damage to the cold side (more than 10 x Mag damage). In that case, it starts to bend the portal, making bubbles of space that, when collapsed, lead to the other side of the portal, but inside the same universe, any universe travel may be done only through the hot side. When the spellcasting finishes, it opens on both universes on an explosion of magic (and maybe an explosion of something else). If the mage remains conscious, it has 1 turn (5~6 seconds) after the casting ends to do something before it takes effect and the portal opens on an explosion. The mage has only this time to figure out what happens (Wis roll vs. Mag) and react somehow, but the mage may not undo this spell at that point. To close the portal, the mage must spend mana and time and do the same ritual, touching the portal from the other inactive side to close it. While this spell is being cast to close the portal (at least 8 hours), the portal remains fully open, connecting the two universes; even after closing the portal, the Umbra and any other kind of interaction cannot be undone. Every time the mage casts this magic, it needs to choose to open the portal to any previous universe he opened before or open it to a new universe, if it is possible. The minimum space size of each universe accessed with this spell is ~(Mag + Wis) Light-Gate-Years. Range: Melee, the mage must touch the portal all the time. Duration: Infinite (can be closed and opened again to the same universe). Tags: Permanent effect, chaos magic, ignore all.
Spell Complements
(vo) Light Green - Space observatory near the Tempus Mountain.
(vo) Pinky-red - with Petra
(vo) Deep-blue - with Petra
(va) Heavy Metal Infinity, Magnitude 1: An utterly inhabitable universe with tilted physics and very weak gravity force, it is filled with an infinite quantity of heavy metal(primarily liquid and vapor steel, but very rich in Tungsten, Osmiun, and Iridium) lava and vapor at 2100K..4200K temperature range. When the portal is open, a constant flow of hot lava jets out of the portal in a dozen-kilometers-long gush until it eventually jams, which may take years and may make the process of closing it complex because the jam could disrupt the other side if the mage remains near the ground. The lava deals (1d12+1)x3 physical damage on everything it touches in a wide area, raising the damage dice by "1" every turn up to the maximum damage (39 damage every turn). Anyone caught by the lava needs to roll Str vs. 3 to take any physical action (swimming is possible for Str 6+, if solidified digging is possible at Str 21+). 1st roll: "6": Fire, heat and metal, wild elemental universe, thermodynamics, and gravity may differ. 2nd roll: "roll result -17": (double critical failure, a mage could not control anything, the effect is dangerous, extra dangerous side effects at first time casting). 3rd roll: "19" The universe is infinite in size. Any effects related to this universe cause +1(Mag) base damage (weapons done with this metal have this extraordinary bonus and the weapon uses heat to cause damage). And any physical, earth, fire, or heat effects deal an additional +30 Damage only when inside the Heavy Metal Infinity universe (base: 30 x Mag damage).
Name: Frank "Firebreaker" Summers Species: Human XP: 54+2 / 2 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 3 Super-Mana Magnitude 2 Super-Willpower Magnitude 2 Super-Strength Magnitude 24 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 12 Super-Intelligence Magnitude 5 Super-Charisma Magnitude 1 Super-Constitution Magnitude 1 Spellcasting Magnitude 2 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Bar Politics (Int) +4 Power Drinking (Res) +4 Drunken Fighting (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) School of Communication (l_) (Int) +2 54/100 - Essence: Balance +4 Days: 5051 (0) Equipment 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn Ebexian Flexoclava (d12), melee, hit:Dex Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Vabala, complete, open Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry) 2x Northern Valley Guard Armor (AC 2) 2x Northern Valley Stun Rifle (2), hit: Dex, dam: Dex, ranged, non-lethal option, unlimited ammo 4x Trained Magic
(lu) Unforgettables, Assemble! Enchant with telepathy and sharing perception up to Int targets (Int+1 for the Unforgettables party only) simultaneously, enchanted beings opt to turn on and off this power at will at no cost or to filter it as desired. Grants a circumstantial bonus of +Mag on mobility rolls and can share skills to make rolls using the highest within the group. Targets: Mag targets each casting. Range: Indirect perception (only for enchanting or disenchanting; after that, the range is infinite and ignores all). Duration: infinite. Tags: Enchantment, Disenchant (no cost, at will)
(lo) Pub Proxy Projection: Enchant one location so that you can hear/see/taste and speak/be seen as if you were present. You can keep enchanted up to Mag locations simultaneously. You make an Int roll for accuracy (with a +3 bonus for any pub). Range: Knowledge. Targets: A point in relative space and maximum radius of (Int + Mag) meters, expend mana to cast and expand radius if needed. Duration: infinite Tags: Enchantment, Disenchant (no cost, at will) Spell Complements (lu) Self (Frank): Str +4, Res + 4, Dex + 4, Int +4
(lu) Liora: Wis +4, Cha +4
(lu) Silas: Tech +4
(lu) Petra: Mor +4
(lo) Rokatrista Bar "Taco´Bout Trouble Tavern" aka "Triple Ts," Gate, Northern Edge Region
(lo) Petra´s Heat Cliffs, still have no Bars, Gate, North region of the Kings Mountain
Superior Technology projects People on development Silas 24 research/day People on prototyping Silas 45 research/day People on production Silas, Liora (1 copy) 46 research/day Repair rate 460 / day Blueprints Flexoclava Foundation melee weapon + 1x internal energy generator 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket Foundation main protector + regeneration 20 / 20 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle Foundation ranged weapon + energy(2) 30 / 30 Research Mister Snoop-Sentry, the 1st Network sentinel of 1st anti-horror 10 / 10 Research Mister Snoop-Sentry, the 2nd Network sentinel of 2nd anti-horror 9 / 20 Research Prototype Silas´ Flexoclava Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket of disbelief AC:3, regenerate (quirk: AC:2 for magical defense) 20 / 20 Research Double-trouble Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 2TP\turn (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) 30 / 30 Research Mister Snoop-Sentry, the 1st Nullify: hacking mag 1, bonus roll: +3 (quirk: on single failure, delay hacking in 1 turn and warns on comlink) 10 / 10 Research Mister Snoop-Sentry, the 2nd Nullify: hacking mag 2, bonus roll: +6 (quirk: on single failure, delay hacking in 1 turn and warns on comlink) 0 / 20 Research Production Flexoclava (complete: 2x) Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn 20 / 40 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (complete: 1x) Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 2TP\turn 30 / 30 Research
The Unforgettables Assembly (Milestones 5/3) Maneuver: 24+6 (condition: Firebreaker on vanguard) Perception: 5+4 (condition: Warden on perception range) Tactical Insight: 5+4 (condition: Firebreaker on perception range) Hacking defense: 21 + 7 Vanguard: Firebreaker, Warden Ranged: Stardust Artillery: Archon Combat Totals Char-action life aural hit dam def mdef dodge TP cost extra Warden 100 / 100 78 10 0+4 regen 4/t War - melee 0+4 1(d12) War - parry 26+4 26(d12+1) X-1 X hit/t Firebreaker 30 / 30 WP 2/2 0 0 12+4 regen 1/t Fir - melee 12+4 24(d12) X-1 X hit/t Fir - melee TF2 2+4 24(d12) X-1 X hit/t Fir - brawl 24+4 24(d4) bare hands Fir - brawl TF2 14+4 24(d4) bare hands Fir - ranged 12+4 60 X-2 X hit/t Fir - ranged TF2 2+4 60 X-2 X hit/t Stardust 20 / 20 TP 5/5 0 0 45+4 Stardust (self) +10X X reaction Star - ranged 45+4 225 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF2 35+7 225 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF3 25+4 225 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF4 15+4 225 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF5 5+4 225 X-2 X hit/t Star - Blast (rng) 45+4 X(d6) X push Archon 10 / 10 TP 5/5 5 0 0+4 Arch - melee 0+7 1 X-1 X hit/t Arch - parry 1+7 1(d12+1) X-1 X hit/t Arch - Blast(art) 21+4 X(d6) X push Arch - Nova(mle) 21+4 2X X all targets