• Memory • [Burhan] Cold Front

[Alistair]

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xxxxx 8th of Ymiden, Arc 715

[Received approval from Plague to acquire Emetyte wells from a Major Fracture venture. This is mostly so that my Revenants, which were essentially put in limbo due to a magic change, can function. As such, this is a memory thread from before said Revenants were acquired, in order to fit in with the timeline. Please, reviewers, be sure to grant two Emetyte wells in the rewards section, as well as five Imedyte. Talia will take the third Emetyte well, so Ali doesn't need to be granted that. Thank you.]

"In-between this world and the dream world lies a connection," she explained, "and that connection is a Fracture."

The woman, with her long black hair and silken smooth dress, looked quietly into Alistair's eyes with the same cordial gaze that she'd always offered. Talia Eisenwald, leader of the Coven's Etzori compound, had been brought to Murdoch an Keene as a result of Damien's task for the Necromantress, which had sent him far off from the mountainous enclosure. As a result, she had come to instruct the young Sotrosei instead, and with Sera ba Randil's permission she was allowed to venture within a Major Fracture with the young mage.

The mages of Murdoch an Keene, high in the mountains of northern Venora, were conveniently close to Burhan's major Fracture, yet isolated from the remainder of society, allowing them a sort of privileged descent into the gateway that presented itself in the woods of the Kingdom's landlocked Duchy. Few would ever see them entering or leaving the metaphorical tunnel, nor would they want to, as the mages were often accompanied by horrific beasts and artifacts of incredible resilience. The Coven would soon launch an effort to mine the contents of Burhan's fracture, increasing their numbers of elite minions and building up their repertoire of magical weaponry.

As a result, an initiative had been weaved, and young Sotrosei and old Naxos would quickly find themselves plunged into the depths of Fractures to explore the contents within. They needed to be prepared.

"A Fracture... is a sort of scar on the world. Honestly, it's largely unknown whether or not a Fracture is caused simply by the destructive malfunction of magic or other things, but one of the known methods of creating a Fracture is destroying a vast and powerful well. We can thus assume that Fractures themselves are sometimes the site of a greatly exhaustive battle by mages, or perhaps a case of foolish over-experimentation. However, this is only sometimes the case, and I would like to be clear that I wouldn't even dare guess at the ratio. There are some other assumptions as to how they are made - magical duels of extreme proportions, spots where incredibly powerful mages died via heavy overstepping, breaches of Transmutationists seeking entry into the realm of Emea... though I think that claim is sort of baseless paranoia..."

She went on, and Alistair waved his hand. "Alright, Talia, that's fine. The conclusion, then, is that we don't know. Right?"

The woman nodded her head. "Indeed," she answered. "But we wish to know more of their internal and external nature, so if inspiration strikes when delving into this... curious space, do feel free to speak out your ideas. However, I highly doubt you'll possess any such idea, considering you're neither a Transmuter, Attuner, Dustforger, or even really an Ensorceller. Now," she paused, "shall we go in?"

[Alistair]

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xxxxx Travel from northern Venora to the center of Burhan took... some time, though Talia bore two creatures with her that had demonstrated incredible agility. She had been mounted upon a large predator known as a Scython, a massive feline capable of domestication and usage within the realms of both transportation and war. These creatures, one beneath Alistair and one beneath Talia, both wore necklaces with several refined, embroidered gemstones upon them; in the center of each necklace was three gems, each appearing similar to that of cut rubies, all glowing faintly in the moonlight in which they traveled. The Scython were incredible - they were large, fast, and strong. In fact, they were not strong by any natural means, and that was clear without an explanation.

Talia, being a Dustforger, must have adorned them with artifacts of sorts - though the mage wasn't sure what their effects were, or if they were passive or active, or whether or not they had any ties into the consciousness or awareness of the Scython. Did these artifacts build muscle? Did they augment their physical reality? Did they simply offer the illusion of superiority, Alistair being compelled by "facts" that Talia knew to be fiction?

He didn't know, but these felines were incredible creatures, ones that viciously rampaged through the forests of Burhan as much as they leaped down the mountainside of Venora. As terrifying as their agility was, it was exhilarating too, and the mage would not forget the hours he'd spent among these predators in the pursuance of wells.

But finally, they had arrived near the major Fracture, and the changes were notable. Reality seemed to subtly shift around them - well, subtly at first, but then less so as they drew more near. Apparitions began to appear, revealing curiosities so frightening that his eyes could not for a moment close. He saw a white creature, glowing within the confines of a clearing... with a marvelous mask and piercing blue eyes. It looked entirely as if it had come from another land, another world, and it had. As they passed the creature on the backs of their monstrous cats, it began to turn around to show its back to them. It was as if it were inviting them to witness its horrors, all the while playfully laughing.

At its back... the mangled corpse of several men, or at least it looked that way - Alistair couldn't be sure, though their parts were chained together and their bodies stapled to the bloodied shell of this ivory creature. The mage winced, and urged his Scython to hasten, a command which it gladly followed. Talia seemed unphased, though that was not surprising considering her experience with Fractures. She, more than almost anyone, knew of the dangers and the revelries of these Emean monstrosities.

Eventually, the two came to the Fracture, deep within the Duchy. It appeared as if many things, though mostly, it was a strangely shaped hole against a very large boulder - one that appeared to be lonesome, surrounded by nothing but grass. Talia nodded.

"Alistair, we must know a few things before we go through, the both of us. You must remind me of these things if I, for some reason, go... unhinged," she stated. That did not sound very fun. "Deep within this Fracture, there will be something known as the Foyer. We must avoid this at all costs, as we are not seeking incredibly powerful wells here, but rather a few moderate wells; Imedyte, perhaps some Emetyte, if we're lucky. There is no reason for us to venture into the bowels of this thing, as we will not be generously received. Furthermore, stay close, and know the difference between tangible and illusion. Reality itself will distort, but some things are not as dangerous as others. Think logically, and rationally. Do not abuse magic - be cautious, stick by the Scythons. Their names are Ka'anu and Lovah. Call upon them if you are endangered, I will be capable of handling myself."

[Alistair]

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xxxxx They entered the Fracture. The moment of entry felt incredibly strange, though Talia described it as being different for each Fracture, and even each person. To Alistair, it felt like the moment where one shifted incredibly in altitude, like riding up the mountains of Sabaissant on the back of a horse; his ears plugged up, his nose felt stuffy, and his head felt lighter than normal. Through the Fracture was a dank tunnel, quite notably moist, with light puddles of water filling dozens of smaller basins made by the shifting height of the floor below them. This place was a tunnel by all respects, though of course incredibly different. The environment felt different itself, the air felt odd to breathe. It was like coming into a totally new climate, and drastically new at that.

Along the walls of the tunnel came a chiming sound, as Talia held a bright pendant to her lips. The chiming began to reverberate throughout the entirety of the tunnel's entrance, and as Alistair looked a vast amount of purple, jagged rocks lined the walls around them. This was ezymite, he recognized, a well that must've been fairly typical in a major Fracture, and utterly not worth their time. Still, Talia utilized the chiming to discover the density of the ezymite wells further on, Alistair assuming that a lower density of ezymite meant a section of the tunnel more submerged into this adrift reality. However, he simply did not know, nor did he ask.

Talia led the way, Ka'anu and Lovah as their guards, with the larger Scython - Ka'anu - walking in front of them, and Lovah trailing behind. It wasn't long after entering the Fracture that the first major event took place, something that caused the hair on Alistair's neck to stand tall as his heartbeat accelerated rapidly. A black shadowy figure, incredibly tall and covered in robes, stood before them quietly. It said nothing, and did not move, but instead jingled a nightmarish chain covered in rotten flesh. The creature took a step, chain dragging behind it, with Talia's eyes cold as Cylus. Ka'anu began to growl, whilst Lovah came to Alistair's side.

"It's an apparition of Emea," she stated. "A nightmare, of sorts, made real. In your dreams, these sorts of entities slaughter you all the time, perhaps without your remembrance. When you die in the dream, you awaken. However, their physical properties - in this area between worlds - are not so intangible. This creature is fully capable of ending your life." The Transmuter stated this clearly, as if unperturbed by the creature's presence. She almost appeared to manipulate the ether around her, drawing from the toxic source of energy and diverting it back to the apparition. Alistair did not understand Transmutation yet, though he knew they tended to fare better in Fractures than most mages. He had to trust her abilities.

Within a moment, the creature seemingly disappeared, and re-appeared at Talia's side. Lovah leaped to defend her, being restrained by the creature's barbed chains and yelping in pain. Talia drew a knife and sliced open her palm, bleeding onto an artifact she wore as a trinket along her bracelet. The artifact seemed to draw breath, creating a visage of pure energy; it was as if the ether she'd absorbed swelled into it, creating a solid construct of etheric power. With a swipe, the entity carved through the apparition, Lovah being thrown back onto the ground as Ka'anu stepped forward to destroy the remainder of the creature. It did not appear, however, to die until almost entirely obliterated. The figure Talia had created disappeared, leaving Ka'anu to rip through the whole of the specter with his fierce maw.

Lovah recovered quickly, and her hide was thick enough to prevent the barbs from puncturing her in any severity.

[Alistair]

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xxxxx "Alistair, try not to use magic if you mustn't in a Fracture," the woman stated, seemingly out of breath almost, despite the leisure of their movements. "Even manipulating the ether within the Fracture is not something my body so enjoys. While magic can potentially occur within here without any negative side effects, that outcome is unlikely, and really it's a volatile thing within a Fracture. It can have a negative impact on your body - it can become draining, of more than just ether but physical stamina. In some occurrences, it can even lead to a dangerous malfunction." She didn't specify, perhaps so as to be more ominous. Regardless, the message was clear: don't dally around with powerful magics within a Fracture, as the result could be undesirable, to say the least.

As they began to wander deeper into the chasm, the Sae'a'fei pointed out several wells along the walls. "This well is Lumyte," she pointed out, a bright crystal with the appearance of a sun, or a flame. It lit up the tunnel like a candle, and by her dismissal of it, that appeared to be all that it did. Alistair didn't bother acquiring any.

"Ezymite, earlier - a purple and jagged crystal with a weak tolerance for magic," she reminded him. "Lumyte, a golden orange gem that emits a staggering light," she added. "Imedyte, a translucent purple-blue gem, a step above Ezymite in that it can handle greater abilities and deal with far more exertion. This well, when shattered, can seriously harm the mage who so foolishly destroyed it. When unrefined, Imedyte is incredibly hot, similar to a burning flame." She explained these basic wells fairly easily, Alistair nodding and taking mental notes.

"For almost all of your minions, you will likely utilize Imedyte wells. Considering the warmth of the tunnel up ahead, I imagine we're about to run into some," she stated, nodding. "Emetyte, a powerful well for more advanced minions and magics, is that of a marble of swirling colors; purple, green, blue. Many of my artifacts and conduits were crafted by Emetyte, as it is a reliable gem for high-end magics. Typically, this is the cream of the crop, along with the variants of it you'll find: Morlakyte, Splinthinyte, Ashyte, Umadyte, Harthyte... I'll explain these some other time. These wells are all immensely sought after, and are incredibly potent. If you manage to destroy an Emetyte well, however, you'll be utterly obliterated. I guarantee it."

He... took that as a mental note as well, being sure not to over-utilize any wells, based on the catastrophic drawbacks Talia and his other instructors seemed to wish to relay upon their destruction.

Soon, they came upon what appeared to be Imedyte, the unrefined translucent blue stones. There must have been five in total, and luckily, they were all reserved for him. Talia reached into her satchel and pulled out a pair of thick leather gloves, carefully extracting the gems from the walls with a chisel she kept strapped along her belt. The woman nodded, placing the five heated gems into a thick pouch, reinforced with a material that strongly resisted heat.

This process took a while, and as they gained these wells, reality appeared to distort around them. Creatures seemed to climb the walls, staring at Alistair, intimidating the Scythons. The mental fortitude of the beasts appeared to waver, and so Alistair was instructed to trigger the effects of their purple-colored artifact, repeating to them the words all is well, all is well. Receptive to the calming intention of his words, the felines complied with his desires, and laid on the floor attempting to relax. The tunnel began to bellow, it sounded, like a roar running through.

Before they knew it, the ground itself seemed perilous, heat running through and simmering the paws of the Scython.

"Bloody hell," the woman scoffed. "It's another apparition. I think this is a precursor to its arrival," she said. "Alistair, draw your blade!"

With her command, he drew, despite his relative lack of skill. The Scythons rose from the ground in attention, as a red haze crawled through the tunnel, the walls shaking vigorously in a fury. A gelatinous ooze came forth, a steaming red liquid flowing across its body. The creature seemed to stroll along the ground via its ooze alone, whilst its upper body consisted only of a torso, two thick arms that nearly touched the ground, and a worm-like head.

[Alistair]

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xxxxx And then, just like that, it disappeared with a similar bellowing roar as whence it came. While he couldn't understand, he felt gratitude at its departure. Talia shortly after explained that Fractures were strange and unpredictable, and whilst the creature had gone, the effects of its attentions remained. The ground below them was still hot, and the roaring continued. The tunnel was lit by a red overlay, a sort of filter that seeped into their vision. It all looked so grim, now - everything that began to appear afterwards became so... vicious.

The images of the specters on the walls, their smiling faces, they all shifted to hateful grimace. They were being watched by apparition after apparition, and before they knew it, they had a contingent of curious dreaming beasts following after them. Talia stated that it was time to leave, though directly upon saying such, she and Alistair recognized a cluster of swirling, misty globes attracted to the wall - three Emetyte wells.

"Unrefined, these will severely hamper our spellcasting ability. If we acquire these, we must leave immediately," she stated. Alistair nodded his head.

Doing as she did before, Talia began to acquire the wells, the weaker mage entranced by their mystique. They were incredibly beautiful, even distracting him from the heat of the Imedyte through the pouch, and the snickering entities behind them. The Scython had begun to lunge at the creatures, who carelessly evaded them, making several attempts at retaliating in their evasion. Lovah, again, was struck and Ka'anu could not bring retribution upon the attackers. It almost seemed as if they were fading in and out of being tangible, making themselves nearly impossible to eradicate.

The creatures only grew more aggressive by the moment, and so Talia hastened her collection of the wells. Gathering the three Emetyte, she gave them to Alistair who held them in his own satchel, supplied by the coven for the expedition. When the wells were gained, Alistair and Talia helped Ka'anu and Lovah back to their feet, and mounted them. They were going to leave as fast as they could, and they couldn't leave any faster, considering the ooze appeared once again to be after them, the tremoring returning.

By the time they'd made it back to the Ezymite from the entrance of the Fracture, both Scythons paws were burnt through, the creatures limping and experiencing agony. Talia attempted to comfort her beasts, passing through the exit of the Fracture and calling upon the Coven to retrieve their endangered agents. By the end of the evening, the Scython had been mended, and Alistair had with him five Imedyte wells, and three Emetyte, to use in the eventual future. He did not know what creatures he'd animate with these things, but he did know that they would need to be refined. That was next on his list.

[Plague]

XP Award!

Alistair:

Experience Award:

• Structure 5/5
• Grammar 5/5

General Lore:

• Fracture: The differences between Minor and Major Fractures
• Ensorcelling: Emetyte, when overloaded, explodes catastrophically
• Ensorcelling: Imedyte is less caliber than Emetyte but more commonly used for thralls.
• Ensorcelling: Recognizing Wells in a Fracture
• Fracture: Dangers in a Major Fracture
• Fracture: Magic works differently in a Fracture.

Notes: I believe you need all three Emetyte wells for your current thralls (even if you were going to remove them, but I'll leave you one open if you need it for your most recent thrall. Two of the Imedyte (and one of the Emetyte if you don't need it for stuff you've already done) will be taken by Talia, leaving you two Imedyte wells in your arsenal. The Fracture you entered has gone, as Fractures often do, so while you cannot return to the same one, you can return to another. No lores for the different variants (Ashyte, etc) because not enough information was give.

► Show Spoiler

Not bad, you know the score. A little more danger for the yield would be nice, but you did have a powerful NPC with you at the time, so its all good. If you need additional lore, let me know.