Session 18 Downtime

Outline

At the beginning of the year, Locke tries to find a state of being where he can be comfortable with the past, sinking himself into the comfortable and familiar rhythms of swordplay and martial forms, but finding no solace, acts out, looking for comfort anywhere he can... this brings the pain of failure, until he realizes that the only way forward is a path towards redemption. Thus, he refocuses himself on the things he does best, research and develop projects and the acquisition of knowledge and power of an extremely specialized variety. He integrates Gwyn's pre-Decimation theories about world building into his own post-Decimation work, delves rather deeply into the study of Emanation X (the light of the missing 10th sun), and prepares himself to find a way forward. He consciously seeks knowledge and power beyond that which he possessed pre-Decimation, as most paths to rightness would require overcoming obstacles that he previously could not overcome, or understanding problems which were previously unsolvable.
 

A Thing To Note

One of the advances Locke learns in this is Autumn's Herald, so that during the three months of Autumn, he is able to really focus hard on his research by expanding his subjective time... essentially, for Locke, this one year could actually be 911 days long.
 

Character Arcs

New Character Arc: RECOVER FROM A TRAUMA

• Cost: Hurt (-2 acumen)
  
• Opening: Rest (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Self Care - I focus on my swordsmanship, on the tradition and rhythm of my martial forms and training. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Getting Aid - There's not really anybody to get aid from. Who am I going to talk to? Simone/Aliliana? She's broken worse than I am. Heironymous? I'm not even sure he's real. The Blood Prince? I'm really not sure that telling them about this is a good idea. But you know what's a great idea... drugs. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Medicine - Oh I get absolutely blitzed. Why doesn't that help? But hey, at least now that I'm high, let's talk to... (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Therapy - A'isha. I go to talk to A'isha... who in this state, is more Aysha than anything else. My oldest friend. Still, no matter what she is, no matter who she is, there is still some level at which she is my truest friend. Clearly we should talk about this, but equally clearly it is NOT going to result in recovery. (+1 acumen)
  
• Climax: the Moment of Truth - I obviously can't move on. I'm not someone who can just step forward from this. I have to find a way to make it right. (+3 acumen, +1 despair)
  
• Resolution - I haven't seen the end of this. I will need to be redeemed. (+1 acumen)

 

New Character Arc: REDEMPTION: A BROKEN WORLD

• Cost: Sorrow (-2 acumen)
  
• Opening: Regret (+1 acumen)

 
 

Existing Character Arc: LEARN: IN THE BEGINNING

• Step: Learn - I review Gwyn's notes, integrating his old thoughts and research into data I have already put together. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Learn - I travel to the smallest and most simple half world I can find, and measure every aspect of it I can imagine. I use these measurements to create a mathematical model of that world, which I then manipulate using calculus to remove all extraneous data, leaving me with a model of the most simple conceivable half world reality construct. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Learn - With Gwyn's help, I build a prototype of the Reality Assembler necessary to test my theory of an algorithmically created reality. (+1 acumen)
  
• Climax: The Test - I create an ephemeral half world which ends when I stop providing energy to the Reality Assembler. (+1 joy, +3 acumen)
  
• Resolution (+1 acumen)
  

 

Existing Character Arc: MASTER A SKILL: MASTER OF THE BLADE

• No action.

 

Existing Character Arc: UNCOVER A SECRET: THE SYSTEM

• Climax: Revelation - I stumble into the truth while investigating something else, The System is a creation left behind by Gwyn and Fynlan. It seems to have been co-opted by The Hidden Prince, but that's not really relevant. It's incredibly powerful, but in the end it's just a brute-force data collection mechanism. I'm fine with it belonging to The Hidden Prince for now, as I don't think they're against us. (+2 acumen, +1 joy)
  
• Resolution (+1 acumen)
  

 

New Character Arc: NEW DISCOVERY: THE TENTH LIGHT

• Cost: The Thrill of Discovery (-2 acumen)
  
• Opening: The Idea - The light of the 10th Sun should exist in this world, so even if the Sun is gone, there must be leftover traces of it. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Research - I use that incantation All Forgotten Yesterdays to commune with my past self and learn more about the nature and qualities of the light of the 10th Sun (Emanation X). (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Trial and Error - Knowing that there is an empty reservoir for Emanation X inside of me, I attempt to refill it with Restorative Touch. This does not work, as apparently I need a bit of that energy to work with, in order to 'prime the pump' as it were. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Trial and Error - I put together the set of filters that I have calculated will be necessary to convert some other kind of light into something compatible with Emanation X. This doesn't quite work, because there is something missing, some quality which apparently exists only within Emanation X, and not within any of the other types of light. (+1 acumen)
  
• At this point, progress on this is blocked, until I can get my hands (eyes?) on some of the right kind of light. However, this research gave me enough basic information that I can move forward with building a spell to detect that light. It's truly been an Eureka moment, merging a lot of the work I've done since Shadow back into my understanding of the pre-Decimation cosmology.

 

New Character Arc: NEW DISCOVERY: SCENT THE INFINITE

• Cost: The Thrill of Discovery (-2 acumen)
  
• Opening: The Idea - I can build a spell to detect magical emanations which is much more accurate than Scent of Magic by leveraging my discoveries with Sefirot technology and my renewed understanding of a 10-Sun cosmology. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Research - I read my own notes. At this point, I'm the authority. (+1 acumen)
  
• Step: Trial and Error - I combine elements of Scent of Magic and Encode the Sefirot until I have a spell which includes sensory data along 10 different channels, rather than merely 1. It works, but merely like a much more sensitive Scent of Magic spell. Not good enough yet.
  
• Step: Trial and Error - I work with the control components of the spell, giving the caster the ability to isolate the sensory channels it provides, and this limit it to the detection of the chosen types/qualities of magic.
  
• Climax: Eureka! - I test the spell. It works. I finalize it and add it to my repertoire. (+3 acumen, +1 joy)
  
• Resolution - Now I can use this to continue my work on Emanation X (+1 acumen)
  

 

Bonus Crux Expenditures

I am spending the 5 bonus crux from integrating my past memories into:
1. Additional Ephemera
2. Incantation
3. Extra Spells (https://satyrine.com/main.php?resource=database&type=conjurations&list=23 and https://satyrine.com/main.php?resource=database&type=conjurations&list=34)
4. Additional Ephemera
5. Incantation
 

Normal XP Expenditures

• Secret: True Master of Secrets (would cost 9 acumen, only costs 8 due to Patronship of Iu)
  
• New Spell: Scent the Infinite (would cost 5 acumen, only costs 4 due to Patronship of Iu)
  
• Forte Ability: The First Form (level 2, costs 1 crux)
  
• Forte Ability: The Disciple's Shift (level 3, costs 1 crux)
  
• Forte Ability: The Second Form (level 4, costs 1 crux)
  
• Forte Ability: The Warrior's Stance (level 5, costs 2 crux)
  
• Forte Ability: The Third Form (level 6, costs 2 crux)
  
• Skill Increase:+1 to Dodge (costs 3 acumen)
  
• Skill Increase: +1 to Resist (costs 3 acumen)
  
• Skill Increase: +2 to Secret Lore: Demons (would cost 4 acumen, only costs 2 due to Loremaster)
  
• Secret: Blood as Power (would cost 6 acumen, only costs 3 due to True master of Secrets and 2 due to Patronship of Iu)
  
• Secret: Patron's Favored (would cost 6 acumen, only costs 3 due to True Master of Secrets, and 2 due to Patronship of Iu)
  
• Signs: Arahnids, Cold, Fire, Infection, Legacy (costs 5 acumen)
  
• SCantrips: Glede, Sunder (costs 2 acumen)
  
• Changery Secret: Thunderblooded (would cost 9 acumen, only costs 6 due to True Master of Secrets, and 5 due to Patronship of Iu)