escordvi | « november: open log »

This is our Open Log for players to have an easy opportunity to tag others and have fun with prompts that deal with current happenings that are not covered by our MANTA Board quests. Sometimes we provide extra quests at the bottom, but oftentimes we just let the MANTA Board cover it. Players are free to include MANTA Board quests in their toplevels!

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated November 25)

ELTRUT

With the Ghoul's Moon festivities over, it's time for everyone to clean up and prepare for the coming winter season. Of course, with the leviathans capable of moving and keeping to warmer waters, it's usually not much of an issue. But it never hurts to be prepared, and the crops and products are always great for export.

One of the biggest products that will be sent off this season will be everything pumpkin. The giant pumpkin shell Eltrut created for Ghoul's Moon will start to shed and the leviathan will need some help in gathering the large chunks before it falls completely into the ocean. Harvesting the pumpkin shell off of Eltrut is no easy feat, but not only is it edible, the rind is also tough and durable.

🔪 Harvest. Using carving knives and pickaxes, everyone must head out of town and into the forests to remove the pumpkin and clean off the shell beneath. Large tubs and wagons will be provided to help haul off the goods.
🐢 Pumpkin Spice Turtles. Drawn by all the pumpkins are small little pumpkin turtles. They are forbidden from being harmed or caught, however, they produce a special "pumpkin spice" and "pumpkin cinnamon" dust that can be carefully collected. While most will respect the law, others will be greedy and try to capture these turtles. Help protect and catch any who try—or perhaps get some extra cash by successfully catching and selling them off.
🔨 Build-A-Pumpkin. To help spur motivation and creativity, there are numerous competitions centered on building the most interesting and durable creation using only the pumpkin rinds. Some small things like nails and bits of wood can be used to help, but it must otherwise be made out of the rinds. From unique artwork to small buildings to carriages to boats and ships—the possibilities are endless. Just don't mind the mess.

Of more concern, both Eltrut and the Naughtilust were weakened from the attack from the Ghost Ship and are dozing a bit for the first week or so. Those in charge are requesting help in preparing special food that will help with their recovery. But to help keep spirits up and to hopefully provide some positive energy to the leviathans, a special hotpot gathering will be hosted for anyone to come and help cook, either for the leviathans or for others. A perfect chance to socialize and catch up with others. Just keep an eye out—someone may try to spoil the food.

To aid the two weakened leviathans, a list of key ingredients is provided for volunteers to head into the forests and out to sea to gather. Large tables and several grills, pots, and other cooking equipment will be provided for anyone to use.

🔥 Fire Sprites. Instead of normal flames, the food for the leviathans needs to be cooked over a special fire created by special fire sprite. They will only appear around campfires or bonfires where stories are told, so time to create a suitable fire pit and get to storytelling! Any kind will work.
🌰 Chest of Chestnuts. One of the most prized ingredients is a special type of chestnut that can only be found in special acorn chests buried underground by squirrel scavengers. These squirrels specifically gather these chestnuts because they are so rare, delicious, and known to have medicinal properties. Said squirrels will also gladly relinquish their store…if they can remember where those chests are. Time to go on a wild treasure hunt!
🐡 Fish Puffing. There is a special type of pufferfish that will be carefully collected and brought to the pier where volunteers must wear special gloves and carefully squeeze the fish to force it to secrete a special fluid that has potent healing properties. Soothe the fish and make them more willing to be handled by singing a cheerful tune. Whistling and other music can help. Feeding them special kelp and gently petting them will also keep them calm and less agitated.
🍲 Cookoff! Whether it's for the leviathans or just cooking a meal to be shared with others, the cooking stations are constantly in use. Who can prepare the most delicious meal?

ELAH

Things are a bit hectic within Baleen, the capital city of Elah. A wild flock of singing turkeys have been set loose and they are running amok, causing a disturbance to everyone. They are getting stuck in chimneys, popping into bathrooms, and swimming in the many fountain pools found all over town. What makes them more disruptive is their singing, which, unfortunately, sound more like nails dragging down chalkboard. While some may be ready to roast them to send to Eltrut for a feast, perhaps some may try to catch them.

And send them to Nogard. (They likely came from there, anyway—)

Researchers would especially appreciate it if these turkeys could be caught and removed as they are busy studying the tombstone relic brought back from the ghost ship. What secrets could it hold…?

At the Archives, researchers are hard at work studying the broken pieces of the black tombstone that was brought back from the ghost ship. They believe it's the reason the ship and its undead crew appeared, but how?

💤 Energy Drain. Although precautions are set, those who are exposed to the relics start feeling a bit drained, as if their energy is being sucked away. Quickly remove any affected and find a way to seal or contain the relics without being affected as well.
🪦 Undeadly Experiments. Although now in pieces, the tombstone relic still holds some power. Thus researchers decide to perform direct tests and experiments to see how it affects the undead. There are requests made to those who have previously died either in their world or this one, and some venture to graveyards where dead and ghosts are sometimes active. When in close contact with the relic, all who have experienced death in some way will become more hostile and aggressive, some even outright attacking any nearby. Help protect those performing the experiment and subdue the affected until they calm down.
🏃‍♂️ Thief! Those damn Corsair, they can never respect important research! A few bad eggs are breaking the agreement and are trying to steal the fragments, perhaps to sell them off to someone else or for some other purpose.

NOGARD

In Nogard, the island the leviathan has settled in is teeming with wild beasts, and perhaps due to being in a warmer climate, they are appearing more and more often, as if coming out of hibernation. It makes for a perfect opportunity for hunters to head out in hopes of collecting rare meat, materials, and hides that can be used and sold. To prevent overhunting, a competition is hosted with rules and regulations that all participants must abide by.

As such, there will be a group to help ensure security and they will even request assistance from Paladins, who are also allowed to participate in the hunt if they wish. Thus those who prefer to go after people will be quite useful to keep track and go after anyone who is poaching, hunting creatures under the "protected" list, or wasting the kills. To any who are caught…well, the Paladins may fare nicer compared to a Corsair.

While most predators and creatures of large populations are eligible for the competition, there are a few notable hunts that will reap great rewards for those who dare. Those who turn in their kills will receive a decent portion of the profits and first choice in what to keep for their own. The rest will be turned in to be sold, with the Elphantin tusks going straight to Eltrut to be used for the recovery efforts.

🦈 Goblin Shark. This deep-sea shark has a distinctive long, flattened snout and protrusible jaws, making it look quite unusual compared to other shark species. All parts of its body can be used so it makes for a profitable hunt—if one can brace the cold depths to take it down.
🐍 Coibara. Head of a cobra, body of a bear, and tail and coloring of a koi fish, this snake chimera can be found in dark coves and anywhere near deeper bodies of water. Capable of sprinting over the ground and swimming, beware of its poisonous fangs, which can also fetch a pretty penny along with its hide. The venom can also be collected for both poison and anti-venom purposes.
🦚 Pexeo. An equine beast with the body and markings of a zebra and plumage and head of a peacock that roams the greener valleys. Although not hostile, it can be dangerous if attacked, its beak revealing sharp rows of teeth that can tear up anything that gets caught in it and its hooves sharp as blades. Rather than killed, the feathers are the real prize and can be carefully plucked instead. But its meat can be considered a delicacy in some areas.
🐘 Elphantin. This giant elephant like creature is considered as the top hunt of the list. They can only be found deep within the forests and only appear at dawn when the foggy mist is thickest. While every part can be used, what makes this the top prize is the medicinal properties of its tusks. But it is very difficult to track and hunt and will take a group of skilled hunters to take down.

Afterwards, a large feast to celebrate is thrown, though of course it can get rowdy and with the alcohol fountain brought in, fights and brawls are bound to happen.

But there will also be a "special guest" rushing into town: wild boars. Perhaps agitated by the hunts or out for revenge against those who targeted them (which was allowed), the boars are crashing and charging into everything they see. While this may look like a good opportunity to prepare some BBQ Boar, the conservationists of the Corsairs would like to drive most of them back into the wilds.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The jade flares brightly at even that scant amount of power, though he's not entirely certain if it's only due to the faint heat he can feel radiating off the stone, even from here, or it's an actual magical reaction. It may very well be a mix of both.

Still, it's more than his own power has produced so far. ]

As I suspected, more promising results are achieved with conventional elements. [ But who knows how it will do on conversion...There's a faint hint of some other tone on the word 'conventional'. ]

Have you tried putting your power into one of the machines? [ He indicates one of the little...windmills? (It's a fan). ]

[He pulled his hand back, tucking it behind him, and shook his head.]

No. This venerable one does not know what 'conductors' are inside it and the tests were asked to be done on the conductors.

[But as it seems the man was curious about how it would react on an already constructed magitech item, Dongfang Qingcang stepped around the table to stand next to the strangely constructed contraption that looked similar to a pinwheel toy. He could not immediately determine what use it may have - he had not seen one of the powered.

Bringing both hands in front of him, he formed a hand seal and murmured a basic spell for gathering magic under his breath. A ball of blue fire formed first and then transformed into a ball of white light devoid of flames or other colors as he pulled his qi away from it to ensure that the only power in the spell was magic alone.

When he was satisfied, he once again gently 'pushed' the magic away from him. It floated like a dandelion seed caught in a lazy breeze. When it reached the contraption, the magic settled into it and almost instantly the device began spinning the flat blades at a speed that was faster than the eye could follow and produced a strong wind of it's own.]

..it is a pinwheel that creates a wind rather than responding to one.

[ He watches in clear curiosity as the man focuses his magic. This is different again from the Weave that wizards call on, the magic of this place. So many different types of magic, across so many different worlds...and yet, some similarities still. The hand seal is not so far from a somatic component, he supposes. ]

An amusing toy, though not particularly large enough to be useful. [ He can't see much point in it, but since he exclusively makes magic items to be used for one purpose or another, he's already biased. ]

You started with a fireball, and then it changed. Could you not have made what you desired from the beginning?

[He crossed his arms again and shook his head.]

This venerable one's root is fire. [no he's not explaining what that means] This venerable one's qi responds easily to all other forms of fire but it is an internal source while magic is external. When this venerable one calls on the magic of this world, his qi is quick to join it. But it is not the same and the results would not be accurate if this venerable one allowed them to say mixed.

[If his tattoo hadn't been rooted firmly in fire magic, he wasn't sure he'd have the same problem.]

If this venerable one was given a spell to call on that was based in another element, it may be possible that this venerable one's qi would not respond as well. This venerable one has not tested it. Fire is usually enough. And when it is not, Hellfire is.

Edited 2023-11-15 15:52 (UTC)

[ He silently deciphers this, his hands stilling in his work as he turns the new information over in his head. His expression is utterly impassive as he does. ]

So this qi of yours is a pure magic, aligned to no element, but it has an affinity for fire, and so it easily takes on fire's aspect. So you must separate the two before you can have pure qi again.

[ He's wondering what hellfire is - does the man have some demonic touch to him? - but better to start with basic things when it comes to power he knows little about. ] Do I understand you correctly?

Qi is not magic. The two are separate forces that can work together.

[He corrected, his own expression neutral.]

Qi is aligned to whatever element the root of the being it belongs to has. Magic is usually aligned to no element until it is harnessed. Normally. But the tattoo that releases this venerable one's power had forced the magic he is able to call on to align with fire.

[He held out one hand and focused on calling on the magic-element of fire. He had to undergo the same concentrated effort as before, but when he was done, a red-white ball of light that flickered like a candle, but otherwise took on no properties of fire remained.]

This is the magic-element of fire without this venerable one's qi.

[He held out his other hand.]

And this is this venerable one's qi.

[In this hand an unnatural blue-white flame burst into life. Every other flame in the research area around them flared slightly, making it's appearance slightly more dramatic than the first energy.

((Would Kimmuriel like to roll Knowledge: Arcane to recognize the fire and unholy energies of ~~Daqiang's canon equivalent of~~ Hellfire from the Infernal Planes of Hell?))]

Edited (html) 2023-11-23 03:51 (UTC)

[ He nods, an attentive student for the demonstration at hand. This is entirely new to him, after all; he needs must pay attention to it. He watches intently, making a few notes.

And he sure would! His roll of a nice, moderate 16 gives him a similar feeling to walking in the Abyss, the eerie prickling of gathering demonic energy he associates with demonic summoning, when the man pulls out that blue-white flame. He identifies it with a moment's thought. ]

That is...some kind of demonic energy? [ He is cautious, but not too much so. Demons of his own world are much more ravenous, much more in every aspect, and it is possible to harness a demon's power without being one yourself...

And, of course, nothing can be assumed when it comes to a person from another world. ] That fire feels much the same as being in the presence of a demon from my own world.

'Demon' means something else in this venerable one's world. A demon is any non-human, non-immortal-born that cultivates enough to obtain a spiritual presence. Many demons exist, but this venerable one is not a demon and Hellfire is not a creation of demons.

[He dismisses the magic and allows the blue flame to flare a moment before dismissing that, too.]

Hellfire is the most powerful energy in the Three Realms. In all of history, this venerable one is the second of only two who have ever mastered it. The first was this venerable one's ancestor and the founder of this venerable one's family line.

[Daqiang tilted his head in thought as he crossed his arms.]

Does your world have a realm called the heavens and a realm opposed to the heavens?

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ELTRUT

ELAH

NOGARD

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