Oblivion's Crown Page 23
You have invested 6 territory points for Tier 3 Mastery of Blood Magic!
You have increased Mana Manipulation to Tier 3 for 3 territory points! Mana Manipulation spells can stabilize arcane energies around you, heighten the mana density of a localized area when combined with wards, or be unleashed in devastating surges that can effortlessly short out most technology or drain a wizard of his most precious resource! Arcane Wards have no effect unless used with Mana Manipulation prerequisite, and are still only ½ normal potency!
26 Territory points remain!
You have chosen to boost Conjuration to Rank 3 for 5 territory points! Summon and bind horrors to your will!
You have increased Wards to Rank 3 for 5 territory points! Safely summon and bind horrors to your will!
16 Territory points remain!
Val frowned, recalling the hideous mental strength of some of the horrors he had faced, and really, even with the incredible arcane knowledge flooding through him, how could one dare to summon horrors in any case without being able to master their will, to force them to accept his binding?
He turned to a faintly smiling Phoebe. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
Her smile grew, but she waited for him to fully formulate his thoughts.
“I mean, the horrors I faced, radiating madness and alien hostility in waves, similar to a Psilord, but different. And those mages, expecting to control them, it’s more than just Conjuration and protective wards, isn’t it? What these tomes hint at but I won’t know for sure until I hit the spell books.”
Val blinked as it all clicked into place. “Are there spells that affect the mind, like a Psionicist’s arts? Or maybe… protect the mind would be the better question.”
And just like that, a faintly glowing blue tome was before Val.
“Though poorly understood by the former Ormur tribe, the principles of Mentem magics are the catalyst behind their binding spells," Phoebe explained. "All Conjuration uses Mentem to control summoned beasts, but those subtle compellings are insufficient for mastering deadlier beings. The wisest of mages do their best to master the fundamentals of all the arts behind their spells. Well done, Valor. Since you posed the question, I may reveal a secret long hidden to all.” She teased a smile. “Though to be fair, the Terran hybrid who captured your heart alongside my Ava deduced it before you.”
Val trembled before the prize. “This… If this shows the secret to magical arts that could protect my mind, this could ward the minds of mundanes and Dauda from Highlords! This is beyond priceless!” Val felt strangely chilled. “And to think, it is now a hidden art. As if no living mage practices it. I wonder why the hell that is.”
Cold eyes peered into his own. “I think you already know the answer to that, Valor.”
“The Dominion,” he hissed. “Unable to abide any competition.”
Phoebe nodded. “And Psionicists are far more potent with Psychic attacks than even the most skilled mind mage. Add to that the secretiveness of ancient mind mages, aloof as are all those seeking to manipulate others, and it was all too easy for Dominion Highlords to cut them down before attempting to take their place as the puppetmasters of this world.” She sighed. “And they’ve been manipulating mages to their destruction ever since.”
Val clenched his jaw. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Phoebe smiled. “It is a worthy art, and who knows? Perhaps, combined with your natural Psion reserves, it might be manipulated into powers approaching that which are otherwise beyond you without magic’s crutch. But most practically, yes. You will be better able to repel horrors and undead, or compel them if you must.”
Congratulations! You are now a Rank 3 Mentem magus.
10 Territory points remain!
Val gazed into Phoebe’s solemn countenance. “To truly master or protect myself from the horrors I might face, and to use blood magics to their fullest, necromancy and healing are both arts I must pursue.”
Val blinked, gazing upon tomes both as brilliant as the silvery moon and dark as the void between stars, myriad secrets blazing themselves upon Val’s inner eye, as if he were a student in undyed robes and she his teacher upon grassy planes of a thousand years ago, sheep bleating in the distance as his mentor taught him the rudiments of all the secrets of the universe.
Congratulations! You are now Rank 3 in the Necromantic arts!
You are now Rank 2 in the Healing arts!
Val shook his head ruefully. “I am breaking my own rule, not investing in Mana or Psion this level. But at what amounts to a five for one conversion for mastering the spells and tomes within this tower, I’d be a fool not to take advantage of the opportunity before me. Even if I’m splitting points up to cover the basics of everything as opposed to specializing, I fear these arts are exotic and rare enough that this might be my only chance to really get a good foundation.”
Phoebe’s smile grew. “My disciple has dedicated himself to mastering all the tools at his disposal, daring even to embrace forbidden art devoted to strengthening the mind. Do you really think your reserves have not grown as well?”
Her gentle gaze was suddenly hard as ice. Val felt a sudden chill. “And now it is time to put those growing aptitudes to the test.”
In an eyeblink, Val was in the ancient tower no longer, but rather a lonely windswept field stretching as far as the eye could see. His mind burned with countless hours of desperate training, the scents of grass and damp wool heavy on his nostrils.
How many nights had he gazed upon these stars, struggling to master the ancient arts his mentor strove to teach? How many evenings had he tried and failed to master the very spells he was forced to cast once more?
Val trembled with exhaustion both physical and mental as his pitiless mentor who accepted no weakness demanded he prove himself the master of all he had learned.
Valor glared at the ground, knowing all his pain could be over in a heartbeat. Forever. All he had to do was surrender and be forgotten by this desperate goddess, allowed to sleep at last, savoring eternal rest in blissful languor without end. He could feel defeat’s seductive promise, even as he made his choice.
Smiling grimly with the sting of sudden pain, copper knife scoring the flesh of his palm, dripping blood instantly blazed into a pentagram he stepped within. Countless cords of magic and power catalyzed into being as he pointed his finger at the ground before him, hearing the glorious howl of an otherworldly beast being pulled from the ether itself as a crackling hound of shadow with eyes of fire swirled into being.
The summoning howled, gnashing teeth of darkness, smashing itself against Val’s potent ward before crashing back to the ground.
“You’re mine, beast!” Val squeezed his palms tightly together, feeling his muscles strain, imagining his own mind straining against the horror before him. Refusing to give in to exhaustion, refusing to give in to the hideous madness he saw within the beast’s eye, laughing at the abomination’s promise to sear his soul.
Val clenched his grip ever tighter upon the shadow hound's mind until it abruptly howled, crumpling before him, ragged whispers of capitulation filling Val with sheerest exultation.
“I am yours, Master. Use me as you will!”
Val’s laughter was colder than the howling storm blowing sleet and rain upon the empty fields. “Then I command you to do all you can to defeat me, beast, even as I claim your power for my own!”
The nightwolf howled and charged as Val clenched his fist, forbidden blood magics causing his nemesis to stumble as tendrils of blood lashed out, lancing the beast. Val flashed a fierce grin as he supped upon the life force of its soul. The wolf's crimson eyes blazed as it stumbled back to its feet. Val's bloodmagics had weakened it, but not enough to assure victory. This would be no easy fight.
At once his foe was upon him, gouging flesh with tooth and claw, whispering dire promises to devour Val body and soul. Val only laughed, using his Synergized Ward to parry vicious snapping teeth, lashing out with his dwarven blad
e in turn, hard pressed for endless moments of battle where any misstep could spell his doom, able to cast his finishing spell only when a desperate sword strike had caused the shadow wolf to hesitate and pull back.
“I abjure thee!” Val roared, feeling powerful magics welling within his heart, trembling through his soul before roaring forth from his lips with more force than the howling storm overhead, his cold-eyed mentor gazing on. The wolf of shadow and nightmare struggled desperately against the abjuration, eyes promising a slow disembowelment as it continued to approach. Val gritted his teeth and fell to his knees, blood flowing from his nose as he put every ounce of his will into abjuring the horror fast approaching. "Repudio Attero!"
The wolf howled in fury, just inches away from Val’s throat before being slammed off his feet and sent sailing into the heavens, then passing to realms far beyond what Val’s eyes could see.
Val collapsed in a heap, icy rain drenching him, too exhausted to move for long moments before finally casting the simplest of healing magics upon his injuries, the cuts and bruises he had received from his trial fading one by one, the hypothermia brought on by the chilly rain replaced by gentle warmth.
Only then did his hooded mistress deign to nod. “You have done well, Valor. I deem you worthy of the lessons you have learned.”
You have learned Lesser Healing! This Level 20 Healing / Corpus spell will ease pain, bring relief to all cravings, and soothe away the wounds of battle. A gentle magic, given time it will bring succor to all but the most serious of wounds. So long as one has time to heal. - Cost to cast at your level of skill: 5 mana. 1 health recovered per second for one minute. Light wounds can be healed in 1 minute, medium wounds in 10 minutes, Heavy Wounds after 100 minutes.
You have learned Reaver’s Kiss! Drink deep of the life force of your chosen foe! This Level 25 Manipulation / Blood Magic spell will inflict 10 damage to health and 5 stamina for 20 seconds unless vitality resists! You will heal for the same amount over 20 seconds! (No wounds to cripple your foe, but you heal 1 wound rank per 50 hit points drained!) - Cost to cast at your level of skill: 10 mana.
You have learned Greater Abomination Binding! This Level 40 Manipulation / Warding spell will allow you to bind any Abomination, Horror, or Undead of any level below Named Lord through a contest of wills. Lower level Abominations are much easier to dominate! Your potent spell will give a +1 bonus to skill check per 5 levels over minimum required to bind Horror. All standard bonuses apply! Success will bind one eternal slave to your will. Failure will result in consequences horrific, so a warding circle is advised! - Cost to cast at your level of skill: 60 mana.
Cost to maintain in standard mana areas: 1 Mana per second per 5 levels of Abomination. - 1 mana per Rank of Conjuration. Rank 3 Conjuration allows indefinite maintenance of any number of Level 15 summonings.
Necromancy synergism detected. Your Rank 3 Necromancy reduces mana cost by an additional 3, so long as summoned creature, whether living, spirit, or Undead, has native ties to Jordia. (Necromancy will have no effect on extra-planar Abominations or Horrors summoned.)
Greater Oathbinding synergism detected! Rank 4 allows for unlimited number of bound servitors, so long as Greater Oathbinding is used in conjunction with Greater Abomination Binding.
Mentem Synergism detected! Your formal study of the school of Mentem gives you +3 to bind all targets, summoned or Undead, per skill rank in the school of Mentem.
Congratulations! You have learned Greater Abjuration! This Level 40 Perdo / Conjuration spell will allow you to abjure any Abomination, Horror, or Undead who dares to challenge your might! Contest of skills identical to Greater Abomination Binding with all Necromancy and Mentem modifiers with an additional +5 to skill check. Success will instantly destroy any Abomination, Horror, or Undead. - Cost to cast at your level of skill: 75 mana.
Greater Warding – This Level 40 Rego / Ward spell will block the passage of all Abominations, Horrors, or Undead, as well as all mundane physical and energy attacks and any other antagonistic force or spell of Level 45 intensity or lower. It will not counter Psiblades or Psionic attacks when eye contact is established, but any mortal who seeks to cross the ward with his body must save versus Oblivion or be destroyed. Caster can only use Conjuration and Abjuration spells from inside the ward. - Cost to cast at your level of Skill: 75 mana.
Val gazed up in awe and wonder as Phoebe smiled down upon him, flooded by countless memories of tending sheep by her side in simple woolen robes during the day, studying ancient arts and the stars by night, so visceral he could still taste the hay in his mouth, smell the rich green fields they had strode.
“It all felt so real,” he whispered, finding himself in their tiny shepherd’s hut once more, wrapped in woolen blankets against the chill, a smiling Phoebe feeding him mutton soup as she had countless times before. In a life he had never lived.
“Rest, disciple. It is time for you to return.”
A disoriented Val rubbed his eyes and lifted himself up off the marble stairs he had collapsed upon, seeing no trace of mystic library, ancient goddess, deserted field, or bedroom overlooking a magical kingdom floating high in the heavens above.
He shook his head in wonder and confusion, awed by a year’s worth of memories now suddenly his own, feeling eldritch magics he had barely fathomed just hours or endless months before now an eternal part of the fabric of his soul. Then his eyes widened as he sensed unexpected guests entering his realm, Alwin’s voice echoing up the massive spiraling staircase.
“My lord, we have intruders! What are your orders?”
A horrified Val was suddenly desperate to avoid catastrophe. “Don’t attack! Whatever you do, don’t attack!”
Then he raced down the spiraling staircase as fast as his feet could take him, but only after taking a quick snapshot of all the ways he had grown, fitting it into the same condensed sheet his friends had shared with him.
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Valor Hunter: – Level 24 Dauda Assassin / Level 6 Overlord (Arcane Reaver)
Primary Attributes
Strength 20 / Vitality 25 / Finesse 16 / Quickness 22 / Perception 23 / Scholarship 17 / Willpower 21 / Charisma 16 / Luck ?? +4
Secondary Attributes
Health 275 / Survival 575 +?? / Stamina 275 / Mana 809 / Psion 607 / Insight 17 / Regenerates 8 Mana & 8 Stamina & 6 Psion & 1.6 Health per second. Base Appearance 10 (+3 charisma +1 fitness -4 scars = 0 + reputation bonuses.) Additional +6 when you let your intensity shine!
Skill Improvements
Find Weakness Rank 3 (Now can be used against all summoned opponents, artifacts, and all wards and spells. Can be used to boost success ratio of all Valorious Disjunction spells by 10% x rank cubed! (90% at Rank 3!)) / Spirit Link Rank 4 (Now you can use healing potions or share damage with party members.) / Influence Rank 1 (Boosts Deception & Intimidation Skillchecks.) / Psi-Sense Rank 5 (Adept: Can use outside of Shadowmind.)
Arcane Art Improvements
Blood Magic 3 / Mana Manipulation 3 / Conjuration 3 / Warding 3 / Mentem 3 / Necromancy 3 / Healing 2
New Spells Learned
L 40 Valorius Disjunction (60 Mana) – Rupture enemy artifacts. Spell shields will not counter.
L 50 Greater Valorious Disjunction (90 Mana) – Rupture Sigils, Traps, Greater & Lesser Wards, enemy artifacts.
L 35 Ice Storm (33 Mana) – Unleash 1 dozen Ice Spears at once!
L 20 Lesser Healing (5 Mana) – 1 Health healed per/sec. for 60 sec.
L 25 Reaver’s Kiss (10 Mana) – 10 Health & 5 Stamina transferred from target to caster for 20 sec. Wards won’t resist.
L 40 Greater Abomination Binding (60 Mana) –Contest of skills to bind L40 or lower Abominations or Undead.
L 40 Greater Abjuration (75 Mana) – Contest of Skills to Abjure any Abomination or Undead.
L 40 Greater Warding (75 Mana) – No Undead, Abomination, Horror, or spell of Level 45 or under may cross. Caster can only use Con
juration/Necromancy across his own ward. Mortals must save vs Oblivion to cross.
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Changes to Dominion Matrix
Territories Claimed: 5
Unspent territory points: 1
Greengrove Estates: Elevated to Level 5 territory: (+25% global bonus): White Tower now fully anchored: Indestructible Tier 10 Arcane Academy (+60% research bonus).
Falinnborg: Level 10 Greater Dwarven Territory (+50% global bonus): Tier 5 agricultural center / Tier 10 Manufacturing / Tier 10 Valorium & Elementium mines / Racial Trait: Inventive Genius = Tier (Undefined) Engineering Facilities. / (+60% Luck bonus: May the fates be kind.)
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Tactical Dominion Submatrix
Ward: +6% Defensive bonus to all units and enhancements within your territories!
Assault: +5% (6) = 30% bonus to all offensive maneuvers for up to 32 party members or soldiers under your command.
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18
And there she was. Radiant with her auburn hair coiled up in a bun under her shimmering mesh helm, beautiful gold-green eyes crackling with anger and worry in equal measure, dwarven blade and shield at her hip as a powerful Rank 4 Synergized Ward shimmered around her left hand.
“I taste his presence, mage. Tell me where Valor Hunter is. I won’t ask again.”
Val couldn’t wipe the smile across his features, heart bursting with joy at the sight of Julia, an intent-looking Golden-eyed Dirk at her left, Yin at her right, all three of them with Synergized Wards and elemental magics at the ready. And behind them with his liquid mercury eyes was none other than Chris, towering over the others with a grim smile, hands resting upon the hilt of his enchanted greatsword.