The Iegumbra - a place beneath the fabric of the world as they know it. Most cannot even sense it, less can interact with it in any meaningful way, and even fewer still can traverse the boundaries of spacetime and enter this place that is both a dimension in of itself, and a reflection of it's umbranaut. It is a bubble in a vast ocean. For Arhulians, this place was the domain of their true power and truest self. A place disconnected from time and space in such a way one could interrogate themselves, hone discipline, and scour weakness. Provided, they can handle the isolation of their own presence.
Zel'Vultet rested his vessel. Unlike the tempestuous ripping tides of maelstrom, jagged mountains of flesh cutting rocks, or the fog smothered plane where nightmares and anxieties manifested physical forms, this vesicle universe was a reflection of it's master and the authority they commanded over their own domain. This Arhulian rested upon a great sphere of obsidian, painted in a glassy film of water. The air was still. Zel'Vultet cupped their hands in front of their body. The task was simple in concept, yet formidable in execution. Between their hands was a small, intense point of purple light. It shimmered as the stars in the clear sky did above, but not from the air. Zel'Vultet was channeling their psionic power at it's maximum, and concentrating it into the smallest point they could.
As a dam with the floodgates open, Zel'Vultet could feel the faint burning in their veins as their soul's luminescence scalded their vessel from within. It hurt. Although there was no physical need to breathe in the Iegumbra, they breathed in and out to give their vessel a rhythm to synchronize to. This point of light, as big as a marble, contained enough energy to break even the mightiest of steel-ships in half should it be manifested as raw destructive energy. In this state, it was naught but a harmless wisp.
Zul'Vultet could feel it. The pain was subsiding. Their control was growing. Their Thread - the umbilical of will that binds spirit to vessel - was acclimating to this power, and resisting the oncoming threadburn. It was arduous, meticulous work to channel psionic energy in such small increments, yet anything more could risk tearing their own thread from their vessel should they command too much power recklessly. Psionic training is as a exercise in patience as it is magnitude. What once was a raging tempest of seething energy was now a calm bead of light. The Arhulian felt the stinging pain be overcome by a surge of relief, and perhaps - a tinge of confidence. "Just a little more." They thought. As they did so, their words manifested into physical sounds in the amaranthine plane.
"The hill has been crested. Focus. Maintain. Endure. Soon, this power be yours and flow from within and without thought as blood does in your vessel." Many Non-Arhulian Psions pride themselves on channeling as much power as they can withstand in a single instant in a display of explosive power. But like an explosion, it always vanished with the moment. The innocuous miniature star that Zul'Vultet cradled was just that - a beacon of light that cascaded power pure and unending.
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Got a question about what Hyden would wear when swimming. The boring canonical time period-appropriate answer is “basically just underwear, as they did in the 1500s” and also “he doesn’t know how to swim”, but I thought it would be fun to draw him in some more modern beach vacation/resort clothes anyway. As a man who is pathologically unable to feel shame, there’s really nothing stopping him from hitting the beach wearing even less than this except the vague awareness that people would likely react poorly, causing him to lose social status. However, he can’t resist pushing the social boundaries on middle aged man sluttyness just a little bit anyway.
Remember your gift art of Hyden being a Skeksis? @chocodile
Time for my getback with Skedris (in deep cover as Vincent) as a big evil (kinda) magic bunny man.
A little cold magic would be pretty handy for this summer heat. Ske- Vincent is someone who is proud of his voluminous figure and would definitely wear as little as he could get away with.
Though unlike Hyden, Sk- Vincent has muscle hiding under that pudge, and he can augment his strength further by channeling his magic inward. Making Therians (what anthros are called in my setting) go bug-eyed when the funny fat magic deadlifts 200 kilograms*, (his own body weight) and then dealing with the accusations of cheating with his magic by doubling that - or at least close to that because the bars don't hold much past that. My setting is roughly late 1800's, so sporting equipment isn't very optimized for extreme users.
*Technically a deadlift of x1.0 body weight isn't that good - only beginner level - but remember Vincent is definitively overweight so that still puts him in the same total weight lifted as actual strongmen.
Anyways I'm soo... I really enjoy this body type. >-<
Commission from Yivah!
Was torn on Vincent being either his own character or a deep cover alternate form of SkekDris. Either way, he is a sorcerer as skilled as he is tall and fat. Vincent uses his magic arrange for sleazy, one-sided deals. He typically goes after criminals, charlatans, and general dregs of society, often making his cons/Faustian bargains more or less harmless on victims he as no quarrel with as a humbling experience.
He feeds his greed by preying on the greed of others. He's a pretty alright fellow - even mildly helpful - as long as you have no holes in your soul for him to hook into. Never stays in a town for long, lest people get wise to his antics. Though the ire of some can have it's perks. Whatever local mafia he's pissed off often ends up being merely a delivery service for "materials" for the more taboo magic rituals.
Got a question about what Hyden would wear when swimming. The boring canonical time period-appropriate answer is “basically just underwear, as they did in the 1500s” and also “he doesn’t know how to swim”, but I thought it would be fun to draw him in some more modern beach vacation/resort clothes anyway. As a man who is pathologically unable to feel shame, there’s really nothing stopping him from hitting the beach wearing even less than this except the vague awareness that people would likely react poorly, causing him to lose social status. However, he can’t resist pushing the social boundaries on middle aged man sluttyness just a little bit anyway.
A fun little pixel art doodle (NOT A MOD) of my sona, SkekDris is the Deltarune style.
In terms of (made up for flavor, mind you) stats, he (without special conditions) does less damage overall than Susie, but is tankier and has better magic. Debatably makes the game easier since his toolkit adds survivability, which is useful in all fights.
Obviously adding or changing one of the roster members would have some lore shattering implications for the Deltarune plotline... but lets not worry about that right now. Lore wise, I think he'd be a the school theater guy that somehow gets pulled in the dark world stuff from being in the wrong place at the right time, and as someone steeped in fantasy as it is, he takes to it like a duck to water.
Going back to the scuffed timeline, While Susie thinks he's a dorky tag along, Kris and Ralsei are crashing out internally. Kris for having a random adult getting involved - since he would be much harder to lie to, throwing a huge wrench into their plans. Ralsei of course is freaking out, because there is a whole ass Lightner involved the prophecy didn't mention.
As for the specifics of his spells, here's how I would break them down in-game.
MageBarrier: Self Explanatory. Only note is it's basically a better defend that *costs* TP rather than gain it as the trade off.
ArcMissile: 10 + Attack x 5 + Magic x 8
With 10 AT and 5 MG, that's 100 damage, or 33% more damage than a crit (75 at 10 AT). No hitting CONFIRM before hit for bonus damage. I figured that's a Susie thing. Not flashy, but it's consistent. Slightly weaker than a regular Crit with Susie (105), keeping in theme that SkekDris needs to juice up his attacks with magic to be on par with base Susie.
Transfuse: 20% HP Damage to Self (defense is not applied) x 2 hp lost + Magic x 3
63 healing from. Best* heal spell in the game, but with stipulations. Cannot heal self, only slightly better than Ralsei's heal in net party HP gain, and healing is specifically from HP lost. So it becomes less effective below 20% HP and stops all together at 1 hp. "Skekdris cast transfuse! ... But there was nothing to give!"
ArcNova: Hoo boy, the math is on this on is going to be a monstrosity. CW: MATH
Attack x 9 + Magic x 6, (120) x1.N, where N is +0.1 for every 10% HP lost + a hidden 0.5N and + 15 base damage per downed ally.
ArcNova at full health: 120 x 1.0 = 120 (much worse than Rude Buster (159+30=189))
ArcNova at half health: 120 x 1.5 = 180 (par with Rude Buster)
ArcNova at >10%: 120 x 2.0 = 240 (much better than rude buster, worse than Red Buster (278+30=308))
ArcNova at >10% with two downed allies: 120 + 30 x 3.0 = 450 (Much better than Red Buster base, equivalent to Red Buster with a max Susie build: 448 )
For a bit of fun math, lets assume SkekDris with chapter 1-end equipment, >10% hp, and two allies down.
Attack: 10 (15) (+2 from weapon, +1 from Ironshackle, +2 from Jevilstail)
Magic: 5 (7) (+ 2 from Jevilstail)
ArcNova: 177+30 (207) With max multiplier of x3, that's 621 damage. (I did not mean for it to be the number of Monosodium glutamate, just how the math worked out) Comfortably breezing past Kris's 558 damage a full chapter later from their X-slash. I don't think he would have a logical way to appear in CH3 for obvious reasons, but for funsies, max damage against the knight is 415 damage. With their damage resistance. That would also add a bit of dramatic irony to the player that the potentially strongest Lightner is not available for the one fight where his kit would be desperately needed.
I think it fits thematically that SkekDris in most gameplay contexts, is worse at damage than Susie, but steps up to be on par as people are hurt, and unleashes truly nuclear amounts of damage when everything is on the line, chunking boss's HP bars for 20%-30% their health. In terms of settings with teen protagonists, he would take the role of a supportive figure that would let the "kids" prove themselves in the adventure, but lock the fuck in when the chips are down.
As for how he would fit into the story of Deltarune...
To elaborate, besides being a fun thought exercise of doodling my OC in pixel art, I think his story would end half way into the game. Between being much harder to keep secrets around, being a credible source (compared to Susie) if info were leaked, and explosive damage potential because of mentor instinct (Ralsei and Kris are holding back for their own reasons, and Susie, though strong, doesn't really process the danger they are in) SkekDris would probably be an X-factor that cannot be allowed to interfere with the plans of Kris's benefactor, and has to go.
Would be a fun bit of AU where SkekDris is killed in CH4, when the just before the Titan appears. SkekDris, as the adult, steps up to fight the knight solo to keep the fun gang out of danger, and we get a run back of the Knight fight. When SkekDris goes down either by losing normally or the HP threshold sucker punch Susie got, the cutscene plays as normal.
"We don't even have to beat you! All we have to to is get past you and it's over!"
Then, the wounded SkekDris grabs the fun-gang and tosses them out of the way of the Titan's beam. It's unknown how much damage it does, but I am assuming it's fatal like snowgrave, especially on someone not at full strength and not guarding. The ensuing Titan fight would be much more serious than it already was.
I think for this little AU/Thought experiment, this would be the sledgehammer straw that breaks the camel's back as far as Kris's allegiance to their benefactor is concerned. Kris was about to literally go out the window before that phone call. Without lore dumping a video essay on you (or just looking at their reactions in the weird route), I am pretty confident Kris isn't evil, and would definitely be not okay with the knight (indirectly or otherwise) outright killing someone. I also think Kris would be personally upset at themselves, because while they did not want this outsider to screw up the plan, this is the last way they wanted the "problem" to resolve.
It would also be a devastating emotional blow to the player Susie who just learned dark worlds can't bring back someone if you didn't know them that well... And that's as far as this thought experiment goes, because the story as we know it has gone completely off the rails.
So yeah, I guess my powerful self-insert OC breaks Deltarune... in a way. I just hope I did it tastefully, haha. ^^; Thanks for sticking with me if you've read this far.
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A fantastic commission from Yivah!
This is a big piece I have been wanting for a while now, a page displaying many of the special abilities Arhulians have, from living weapons, to psionic abilities, in addition to their extraordinary perception. Arhulian psionics manifests in multiple ways, with most Arhulians adopting an area of specialization. The three broadest categories, ordered in difficulty of mastery would be extrasensory - "6th sense", telepathy, etc..; vessel manipulation - combat morphs, living weapons, regeneration, etc..; and domain externalization - energy manipulation, control of fundamental forces, and so on. At some point, I'll have to make a world bible for their psionic powers!
All abilities listed in order of right to left, top to bottom.
1 - Living Weapon Biomorph
Arhulian bones are made of a material called 'Arhdrargyrum' as living metal that can be manipulated to form a variety of useful structures from shields to whip swords. Even the density and hardness of the material can be directly affected. Even without psi training, broken Arhulian bones can heal in a matter of days. There's a finite amount that can be actively manipulated for external combat morphs that can be increased with training. This one is blocking a tank shell - rather than deflecting - with whip swords ready to impale the viewports.
2 - Wisp in a Jar
Although it's the most basic of the energy manipulation techniques, creating a 'Wisp' is a big milestone. A wisp is a point like concentration of psionic energy. It can be used to generate light, ignite items, and highlight things for more advanced psionic attacks, as well as even act as a remote point of observation. Wisps can be moved to solid materials, and thus can reach objects that are otherwise inaccessible. Wisps are also why Arhulians predominantly forgo the use of black powder for military applications, and they know all too well the risks of remote detonation... something their adversaries wished they had known.
3 - Nova & Psi Sword
The power of the Soul or 'thread' replenishes infinitely - though there are limits to how much power can be channeled at once, and how quickly it restores - much like the reservoir of a dam. Going Nova is to greatly magnify an Arhulian's ability to channel their Soul, allowing astonishing feats of power and speed to be put on display. Their fur turns a luminescent silver during Nova. That said, there is a danger; there is only so much power a vessel can handle before the power of the Soul scalds it from the inside out and eventually de-anchors. (Otherwise known death.) Going Nova removes the invisible barriers from keeping psions commanding more power than what their vessel can withstand, thus Nova requires a great deal of experience and training to use safely. Nova itself is difficult to obtain, as it is a great power revealed in response to a need. To have Nova to come out 'in the wild' as a response to trauma or dire circumstances is considered a worst case scenario as the potential for the user of hurting themselves as much as the object of their distress is great.
The user is also wielding blade of condensed psionic energy that is able to cleave most matter with ease. In addition, the it can be thrown as an explosive javelin, or reconfigured into a sphere which serves as the nucleus of many energy attacks, making it a versatile weapon.
4 - Thrumming Needles
Dense, hovering needles of Arhdrargyrum that can be accelerated to great speeds to impale targets outright, or act as remote foci for specialized psionic attacks.
5 - Bellunade
To differentiate their 'guns' from black powder derived weapons, the source word bellum was used instead of gunhild to denote Arhulian weapons. They function as linear accelerators, using their own psionic energy as the power input instead of magnetism to launch (usually) inert projectiles at tremendous velocities. The biomorphs for them feature additional muscle for fine control as well as bracing. They can function recoiled or recoilless modes depending on the needs of the wielder.
6 - Guardian Shell
A hard energy projection that encapsulates the user that not only physically blocks incoming attacks, but distributes energy across it's entire surface area and diminish the energy of incoming attacks. Depending on the size, desired energy usage, and protection level, shells can diminish the effectiveness of attacks to be minor, or stop them entirely. Everything from kinetics, to radiation, to blast waves or focused energy.
7 - Astral Lance
A concentration of energy that not only burns and pierces as a laser would, but it can saturate a target with dangerous amounts of psionic energy that then explosively decomposes. Unlike mundane equivalents, these attacks have every high total energy, and controllable brisance. All psionic attacks are resisted by willed/souled beings, even ones that are completely blind and untrained. Thus, though certainly lethal, astral lances have remarkable destructive properties towards inanimate material. It's been noted that attacks that are "only" fatal to a living target should have left the body completely aerosolized when compared to a mundane explosion of the same destructive effect on the environment. The easiest place to generate focus for a psi attack is the head - more skilled users can generate focal points across their body such as the hands and tail.
8 - Amaranth Fire
A lavender psionic fire that burns with unnatural properties, nearly able to combust almost anything. Although resisted even passively by living beings, living targets can still be harmed by the indirect effects of the flame, such as loss of structural integrity, combustion products, smoke, and radiant temperature.
9 - Euclidean Translocation (Levitation)
Supernatural flight. Notes include the ability to short range teleportation (true translocation), temporarily becoming incorporeal during great bursts of speed (flash-stepping), and traveling at tremendous speed - as long as it's on a relatively straight trajectory. (Shine-dashing)
10 - Eclipse Arm
One of the mightiest biomorphs at an Arhulian's disposal. Creating a stable gate to the Umbra - a dimension of psionic energy - with the rest acting as a focus. An arhulian can forgo draining themselves and only focus on controlling throughput, resulting in them being able to command tremendous amount of energies. A small 'pistol shot' can flatten giant boulders/small rock formations while the ones wielded by the most powerful Arhulian psions in the world at maximum output could easily rival thermonuclear weapons in destructive capabilities. All who have witnessed an Eclipse Arm were never that Arhulian's target, because such a weapon is only called fourth when the Arhulian wants to make their target not exist anymore with conviction.
A fantastic commission from Yivah!
This is a big piece I have been wanting for a while now, a page displaying many of the special abilities Arhulians have, from living weapons, to psionic abilities, in addition to their extraordinary perception. Arhulian psionics manifests in multiple ways, with most Arhulians adopting an area of specialization. The three broadest categories, ordered in difficulty of mastery would be extrasensory - "6th sense", telepathy, etc..; vessel manipulation - combat morphs, living weapons, regeneration, etc..; and domain externalization - energy manipulation, control of fundamental forces, and so on. At some point, I'll have to make a world bible for their psionic powers!
All abilities listed in order of right to left, top to bottom.
1 - Living Weapon Biomorph
Arhulian bones are made of a material called 'Arhdrargyrum' as living metal that can be manipulated to form a variety of useful structures from shields to whip swords. Even the density and hardness of the material can be directly affected. Even without psi training, broken Arhulian bones can heal in a matter of days. There's a finite amount that can be actively manipulated for external combat morphs that can be increased with training. This one is blocking a tank shell - rather than deflecting - with whip swords ready to impale the viewports.
2 - Wisp in a Jar
Although it's the most basic of the energy manipulation techniques, creating a 'Wisp' is a big milestone. A wisp is a point like concentration of psionic energy. It can be used to generate light, ignite items, and highlight things for more advanced psionic attacks, as well as even act as a remote point of observation. Wisps can be moved to solid materials, and thus can reach objects that are otherwise inaccessible. Wisps are also why Arhulians predominantly forgo the use of black powder for military applications, and they know all too well the risks of remote detonation... something their adversaries wished they had known.
3 - Nova & Psi Sword
The power of the Soul or 'thread' replenishes infinitely - though there are limits to how much power can be channeled at once, and how quickly it restores - much like the reservoir of a dam. Going Nova is to greatly magnify an Arhulian's ability to channel their Soul, allowing astonishing feats of power and speed to be put on display. Their fur turns a luminescent silver during Nova. That said, there is a danger; there is only so much power a vessel can handle before the power of the Soul scalds it from the inside out and eventually de-anchors. (Otherwise known death.) Going Nova removes the invisible barriers from keeping psions commanding more power than what their vessel can withstand, thus Nova requires a great deal of experience and training to use safely. Nova itself is difficult to obtain, as it is a great power revealed in response to a need. To have Nova to come out 'in the wild' as a response to trauma or dire circumstances is considered a worst case scenario as the potential for the user of hurting themselves as much as the object of their distress is great.
The user is also wielding blade of condensed psionic energy that is able to cleave most matter with ease. In addition, the it can be thrown as an explosive javelin, or reconfigured into a sphere which serves as the nucleus of many energy attacks, making it a versatile weapon.
4 - Thrumming Needles
Dense, hovering needles of Arhdrargyrum that can be accelerated to great speeds to impale targets outright, or act as remote foci for specialized psionic attacks.
5 - Bellunade
To differentiate their 'guns' from black powder derived weapons, the source word bellum was used instead of gunhild to denote Arhulian weapons. They function as linear accelerators, using their own psionic energy as the power input instead of magnetism to launch (usually) inert projectiles at tremendous velocities. The biomorphs for them feature additional muscle for fine control as well as bracing. They can function recoiled or recoilless modes depending on the needs of the wielder.
6 - Guardian Shell
A hard energy projection that encapsulates the user that not only physically blocks incoming attacks, but distributes energy across it's entire surface area and diminish the energy of incoming attacks. Depending on the size, desired energy usage, and protection level, shells can diminish the effectiveness of attacks to be minor, or stop them entirely. Everything from kinetics, to radiation, to blast waves or focused energy.
7 - Astral Lance
A concentration of energy that not only burns and pierces as a laser would, but it can saturate a target with dangerous amounts of psionic energy that then explosively decomposes. Unlike mundane equivalents, these attacks have every high total energy, and controllable brisance. All psionic attacks are resisted by willed/souled beings, even ones that are completely blind and untrained. Thus, though certainly lethal, astral lances have remarkable destructive properties towards inanimate material. It's been noted that attacks that are "only" fatal to a living target should have left the body completely aerosolized when compared to a mundane explosion of the same destructive effect on the environment. The easiest place to generate focus for a psi attack is the head - more skilled users can generate focal points across their body such as the hands and tail.
8 - Amaranth Fire
A lavender psionic fire that burns with unnatural properties, nearly able to combust almost anything. Although resisted even passively by living beings, living targets can still be harmed by the indirect effects of the flame, such as loss of structural integrity, combustion products, smoke, and radiant temperature.
9 - Euclidean Translocation (Levitation)
Supernatural flight. Notes include the ability to short range teleportation (true translocation), temporarily becoming incorporeal during great bursts of speed (flash-stepping), and traveling at tremendous speed - as long as it's on a relatively straight trajectory. (Shine-dashing)
10 - Eclipse Arm
One of the mightiest biomorphs at an Arhulian's disposal. Creating a stable gate to the Umbra - a dimension of psionic energy - with the rest acting as a focus. An arhulian can forgo draining themselves and only focus on controlling throughput, resulting in them being able to command tremendous amount of energies. A small 'pistol shot' can flatten giant boulders/small rock formations while the ones wielded by the most powerful Arhulian psions in the world at maximum output could easily rival thermonuclear weapons in destructive capabilities. All who have witnessed an Eclipse Arm were never that Arhulian's target, because such a weapon is only called fourth when the Arhulian wants to make their target not exist anymore with conviction.
A fantastic commission from Yivah!
This is a big piece I have been wanting for a while now, a page displaying many of the special abilities Arhulians have, from living weapons, to psionic abilities, in addition to their extraordinary perception. Arhulian psionics manifests in multiple ways, with most Arhulians adopting an area of specialization. The three broadest categories, ordered in difficulty of mastery would be extrasensory - "6th sense", telepathy, etc..; vessel manipulation - combat morphs, living weapons, regeneration, etc..; and domain externalization - energy manipulation, control of fundamental forces, and so on. At some point, I'll have to make a world bible for their psionic powers!
All abilities listed in order of right to left, top to bottom.
1 - Living Weapon Biomorph
Arhulian bones are made of a material called 'Arhdrargyrum' as living metal that can be manipulated to form a variety of useful structures from shields to whip swords. Even the density and hardness of the material can be directly affected. Even without psi training, broken Arhulian bones can heal in a matter of days. There's a finite amount that can be actively manipulated for external combat morphs that can be increased with training. This one is blocking a tank shell - rather than deflecting - with whip swords ready to impale the viewports.
2 - Wisp in a Jar
Although it's the most basic of the energy manipulation techniques, creating a 'Wisp' is a big milestone. A wisp is a point like concentration of psionic energy. It can be used to generate light, ignite items, and highlight things for more advanced psionic attacks, as well as even act as a remote point of observation. Wisps can be moved to solid materials, and thus can reach objects that are otherwise inaccessible. Wisps are also why Arhulians predominantly forgo the use of black powder for military applications, and they know all too well the risks of remote detonation... something their adversaries wished they had known.
3 - Nova & Psi Sword
The power of the Soul or 'thread' replenishes infinitely - though there are limits to how much power can be channeled at once, and how quickly it restores - much like the reservoir of a dam. Going Nova is to greatly magnify an Arhulian's ability to channel their Soul, allowing astonishing feats of power and speed to be put on display. Their fur turns a luminescent silver during Nova. That said, there is a danger; there is only so much power a vessel can handle before the power of the Soul scalds it from the inside out and eventually de-anchors. (Otherwise known death.) Going Nova removes the invisible barriers from keeping psions commanding more power than what their vessel can withstand, thus Nova requires a great deal of experience and training to use safely. Nova itself is difficult to obtain, as it is a great power revealed in response to a need. To have Nova to come out 'in the wild' as a response to trauma or dire circumstances is considered a worst case scenario as the potential for the user of hurting themselves as much as the object of their distress is great.
The user is also wielding blade of condensed psionic energy that is able to cleave most matter with ease. In addition, the it can be thrown as an explosive javelin, or reconfigured into a sphere which serves as the nucleus of many energy attacks, making it a versatile weapon.
4 - Thrumming Needles
Dense, hovering needles of Arhdrargyrum that can be accelerated to great speeds to impale targets outright, or act as remote foci for specialized psionic attacks.
5 - Bellunade
To differentiate their 'guns' from black powder derived weapons, the source word bellum was used instead of gunhild to denote Arhulian weapons. They function as linear accelerators, using their own psionic energy as the power input instead of magnetism to launch (usually) inert projectiles at tremendous velocities. The biomorphs for them feature additional muscle for fine control as well as bracing. They can function recoiled or recoilless modes depending on the needs of the wielder.
6 - Guardian Shell
A hard energy projection that encapsulates the user that not only physically blocks incoming attacks, but distributes energy across it's entire surface area and diminish the energy of incoming attacks. Depending on the size, desired energy usage, and protection level, shells can diminish the effectiveness of attacks to be minor, or stop them entirely. Everything from kinetics, to radiation, to blast waves or focused energy.
7 - Astral Lance
A concentration of energy that not only burns and pierces as a laser would, but it can saturate a target with dangerous amounts of psionic energy that then explosively decomposes. Unlike mundane equivalents, these attacks have every high total energy, and controllable brisance. All psionic attacks are resisted by willed/souled beings, even ones that are completely blind and untrained. Thus, though certainly lethal, astral lances have remarkable destructive properties towards inanimate material. It's been noted that attacks that are "only" fatal to a living target should have left the body completely aerosolized when compared to a mundane explosion of the same destructive effect on the environment. The easiest place to generate focus for a psi attack is the head - more skilled users can generate focal points across their body such as the hands and tail.
8 - Amaranth Fire
A lavender psionic fire that burns with unnatural properties, nearly able to combust almost anything. Although resisted even passively by living beings, living targets can still be harmed by the indirect effects of the flame, such as loss of structural integrity, combustion products, smoke, and radiant temperature.
9 - Euclidean Translocation (Levitation)
Supernatural flight. Notes include the ability to short range teleportation (true translocation), temporarily becoming incorporeal during great bursts of speed (flash-stepping), and traveling at tremendous speed - as long as it's on a relatively straight trajectory. (Shine-dashing)
10 - Eclipse Arm
One of the mightiest biomorphs at an Arhulian's disposal. Creating a stable gate to the Umbra - a dimension of psionic energy - with the rest acting as a focus. An arhulian can forgo draining themselves and only focus on controlling throughput, resulting in them being able to command tremendous amount of energies. A small 'pistol shot' can flatten giant boulders/small rock formations while the ones wielded by the most powerful Arhulian psions in the world at maximum output could easily rival thermonuclear weapons in destructive capabilities. All who have witnessed an Eclipse Arm were never that Arhulian's target, because such a weapon is only called fourth when the Arhulian wants to make their target not exist anymore with conviction.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Relax your grip, lady. No one's taking that thing away from you. (No one else wants it.)
If Jocosa were asked this question by someone in-universe (9/10 uncomfortable, especially here in her younger years) she would give the answer of "being in the family way again would not be medically advisable." That is truth-adjacent, but not the whole truth. As she says, questions surrounding her fertility followed her for years, through side-eyes from her peers; glances of pity by her staff; through exhortations and excoriations from her husband and father and mother.
Jocosa wasn't deluded--she knew why her strange, singular spawn was considered unacceptable. Years prior, even she'd have agreed that she was duty-bound to produce progeny. That was the girl that married a contemptible man at the behest of her father for the good of the bloodline. Despite pressure from those same men to submit herself to more pregnancies, for the first time, Jocosa refused their demands.
She'd never have dreamed of such rebellion in her youth. But coming into womanhood--or, perhaps, the nights enduring the humiliation of the marital bed, the years spent sick and suffering through futile pregnancies and miscarriages and stillbirths, and the months caring for the infant the family doctor told her would die (would be better off dead)--changed her. She developed resentment, spite, a thirst for power of her own and, most surprisingly, a deep affection for her wretched little whelp. Though her body had recoiled at the thing growing inside it and vomited him up prematurely, he still clung to life and to her, loyally obeying her desperate, whispered orders to stay alive just one day more. He had stayed by her side when none of her other offspring could and none of her family cared to, and she'd stay by his.
Death hadn't claimed him, and her family didn't claim him. Her son--her family's legacy--was therefore hers to shape, and hers alone.
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In which Theo says "I'm not naive," then proceeds to be deeply naive.
This'd maybe rank as 6/10 uncomfortable. Theo has little to lose by helping Hyden, and Hyden has little to gain by alienating Theo. It only makes sense that the two most intelligent men on the continent should combine their minds to see their missing pieces restored. Theo has no reasons to believe Hyden is lying to him about his intentions (no reasons he's paying attention to, anyway).
Whether Hyden cares is another matter. Theo is aware that Hyden is not exactly the sentimental type. That's fine, Theo knows he is unusually emotional compared to most and being more sensible than that isn't a bad thing. After all, his mother was a pragmatic person, not given to flights of fancy or great shows of emotion. Despite that, she and Theo were kindred spirits, and she cared for his troubles like her own. He and Hyden have much in common as well. Maybe it isn't impossible that Hyden could care, too...
Discussing past relationships and what happened to Milana after she left him.
For several years after the split Hyden was far too occupied by his own issues to spare much thought for her. But news tends to get around in noble social circles.
She married wealthy, of course. And chose someone far more palatable to her parents (who she mended her relationship with after leaving Hyden). Absolutely NOT a wizard, she swore off of ever dating those things again. She had children and the family she hinted at wanting in the past. Whether any of them survived the fall of the Old Kingdoms is unknown, but reasonably likely, given that none of them had any magical blood.
She and Hyden never spoke again after the breakup and rarely if ever crossed paths at parties and events, because Hyden became something of a recluse after his injury. As you can see, he's not exactly over her (for one, he's periodically referred to her as his 'wife' and used terminology like 'divorced'--they were not married) but he seems to find more value in wallowing in his chosen narrative of "my wife left me because I'm sick :(" than in awkwardly trying and failing to talk things out. So 2/10 discomfort, perhaps. The extra point is because he has to brace himself for having his lies called out, but he's ready to defend them. Mostly he enjoys the pity party session.
(Also, the woman in the first picture hasn't been discussed before, but let's just say there are a couple reasons his fellow countrymen suspected he might have divided loyalties back in his early 20s.)
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