Cassandra Adama's Metallurgic Emporium

[Ashbringer he/him]

When had been the last time she'd actually looked at her arm? Not just taken a quick glance at the tone and the flexibility, but really, really looked at it? A month? A year? Cassie had spent so long just looking at the surface, just making sure everything looked fine and that she could keep going out in her favorite dress, or at least her favorite dress with a gloved safehand, or so many other little compromises that seemed so simple at the time. It wasn't simple. Nothing was simple. She knew that when she'd seen the other Soulcasters, seen people of grain and glass and sometimes of nothing at all. She knew that when she'd tried to steal the Soulcaster she now carried, and instead took it as a spoil from a monster made of more metal than flesh.

They were dying. All of them.

Cassie didn't know how long she had. She'd spent the last week - or two weeks? - just trying to learn about what she'd ignored for decades, the process of savantism. There were reports of people surviving it, or at least living while treating it as any other affliction. But for every answer there was another question, one Cassie couldn't answer. There was the best case, someone who had managed to emerge from savantism as a fully-fledged Elsecaller: but desperation was never a good way to attract a Nahel bond, and any spren within her own Soulcaster had given no reaction. The simplest solution was simply to give up the Soulcaster, but Cassie had long ago rejected that idea - not only was it too late, it would be the end of the Emporium. 

Then there were... darker options. Ways of extending one's life with Hemalurgy or other, more esoteric Investitures did exist, but what little that she knew of Hemalurgy was enough to make her stay far away. The only option she'd thrown away sooner was passing the Soulcaster onto Poller. There were some lines Cassandra did not cross. Maybe, long ago, she would have been more likely to explore them, and less likely to go onto her third path. But those lines seemed more solid now. More set in stone... or steel. 

Rusts. Cassie knew that was a step - her very soul was becoming more metallic. Hopefully it would stay mostly symbolic and not literal.

Cassie moved her left arm off her upstairs desk and roughly organized her papers into a pile, then paused and smiled for a second. Her metal fingers wouldn't get paper cuts. That was convenient. She still swept those papers to a corner, then looked at her third stack.

Cognitive Shadows were not something Cassie had... well, any experience with. Only legends of the Survivor and of the Heralds, and other myths of people living when they should not, and of hearing last goodbyes and guardian spirits. But the Alleyverse - and the Ghostbloods, as part of their trade for those spikes - had a lot of information. Verified information. And finally, an idea: securing a Cognitive Shadow into a Physical aspect. A way to secure a soul after death. Or at least a facsimile of her soul, but that distinction didn't mean too much to Cassie - for so long the only purpose a soul held was to be ripped apart to fuel Inquisitor's spikes in scary, too-real stories.

She'd need a few things. A body - if Cassie did this right, she could likely use her own. A soul - the same. Then a Link. Some way of tying the two items together once they'd been separated. The Ghostbloods had recommended a spike, a staple. But Cassie had spent enough time on Roshar to learn about trapping Investiture in gemstones.

Cassie reached for a pen and began slowly, carefully, crafting a letter. Silberfarben's contact for amethysts had proved quite capable at providing amethysts. She felt they could come through for this. She'd make it well worth their while.

It would make her immortal, after all.

[Ashbringer he/him]

It had been a long time since Cassie had played with beads.

When she was younger - far younger - her father had bought her a little jewelry kit. She spent a lot of time stringing little wooden beads together, creating little bracelets, little necklaces, little bands to put in her hair. They kept her occupied, giving her something to play and learn when not looking at her studies or painting a picture with pretty colors. She'd always wanted to get a metal set like her mother had, but both parents had always said they were too dangerous, too valuable, too distracting, always too something. They had given her a set of colorful crystal beads instead, as her "own little treasure", and a five-year-old Cassie had wondered how those weren't also dangerous and valuable and distracting as well.

She knew soon enough. When the mists had come and she'd gotten sick, then nearly Pulled the beads off her mother's wrist in curiosity. Nobody had really explained Allomancy to her by then. That usually waited until the beatings, the attempt to Snap the children into showing their power. Cassie got to skip that step. Mostly.

Cassie got her metal beads at that point, but it was a lot less of playing and more learning, particularly with the older woman with the Lurcher's shield. Pull the beads to you, but not into your head. Pull this bead to you, but not that one. Find the bead under your bed. Pull a bead someone tosses at you. Pull this, Pull that... she knew it was important, just not why. Just that the metal was the important part. Not the beads. She eventually graduated to the traditional coins, and was scheduled to start with actual weapons when her family nearly knocked her door off its hinges and told her they needed to run to the cave the Emperor had found. When the shaking stopped and they came out, the world was different. Pretty. Colorful like the paintings she'd made. Like the crystal beads.

 

Cassandra Adama looked at the tiny amethysts that Lord's contact had shipped her. They weren't perfectly round, but they were small enough that any imperfections would have the same impact on its capabilities. Tiny beads, innocuous in nature but bursting with potential. Strange, how it was now the crystal beads that would be her salvation from the poison that was her metal body. 

The beads, of course, didn't have holes in them. That would ruin the entire idea. Cassie instead had to tie them together by hand, which needed a series of clamps to keep the little strings from coming apart and flinging the valuable gems all over her store. It was slow, especially with the feeling slipping from her fingers. Poller was helping with a few of the longer strands, but he couldn't do them all. He didn't know what they were for, after all. Nor could he Soulcast the string into the metal to make a better gem setting. It was a strange metal, that one - made by Soulcasting without thinking much at all. It ended up being almost identical to the metal her flesh seemed to be becoming. 

The chains of gems would hopefully act as a channel, connecting her extremities to... something. Some way of transmitting a signal between an input and output. Cassandra hadn't yet determined what the "input" would be. That was more detailed in the Ghostblood's missive, but it talked a lot about things she didn't understand. Shadows. Circuits. Batteries. Silver. Binding. Technomagic. Something about power manipulation and an Investiture Interface. She had heard of a few of these words from Earth-based literature she'd found on different metals. Other words were completely alien. And then there were the words that she understood perfectly: "theory", "experimental", "risk", "unreliable". "Death". But the beads, she understood. Mostly. It would act as her nerves, letting her feel and respond and... live. She just needed a way to make sure they worked, and something to attach them to. As for the "death" part... she was facing death anyway. 

 

Cassie paused.

Something felt... wrong. Very wrong.

Why had this invoked so many memories in her? Cassandra barely thought about that part of her past, save for the odd letter back home to a time that she wasn't sure was even there. The amethysts were like beads, sure, but not that much. She didn't play with beads anymore. She had a full on blacksmith's shop, for Preservation's sake. So why... memory?

Maybe this was just an emotional reaction. She was dying, after all. It was normal to think of the family she had left, the people - 

No.

It's not fine.

Can't you see?

Something is very wrong.

Be afraid. 

Cassie didn't jump out of her seat at the thought. Partially because she physically couldn't anymore. Partially because she didn't quite understand what it was she was feeling. Just what it wasn't. This wasn't the cascade of an emotional reaction. Nor was it anything similar to a progression in her Change. If anything, Cassie's transformation made her more grounded, less likely to shift in an outburst. It wasn't even in response to her frustrations with the progress on the strings of amethyst and their purpose. No, this was just a sudden and profound feeling that something was wrong, but with no indication what was wrong. Like someone Rioting her, if they had no practice in how to manipulate people. And were somehow invisible.

It felt like... the Einladung?

She'd felt this before. At the Hospital. Why she'd felt it, she didn't know. Had a doctor had tried to get her concerned enough about her condition to check in? But then why was she feeling it now? Or was this something else. 

Well, it didn't feel relevant to her project. Cassandra knew that much. So she discounted it for now. There could be several possibilities she wasn't considering, but most of them were related to stress, which was the contradiction of being both understandable and irrelevant. She needed to focus. Find a way to understand how to complete her project. But maybe - just maybe - it would help to have some help.

Cassandra checked the small pocket she'd Soulcast into her desk. Her new little treasure - a softly glowing sphere of amethyst the size of a baseball. It had been expensive - very expensive - but the contact's word had held true. The gem hadn't lost any Stormlight since she'd placed it in there. A perfect gemstone. Cassandra would figure out how to use it eventually. But for now, she wanted to get out. Calm down her nerves. Maybe get some clandestine advice on how to connect these circuits.

She pulled a note out of her desk and begin trying to edit it, before simply crumpling it and Soulcasting it into a drop of lead. She then grabbed a new sheet of paper and wrote in her new, large scrawl. Then Cassie grabbed a small green scarf, left the note with Poller, and limped out into the City. Towards answers.

Towards whatever drew that little unease in the back of her mind.

 

NullBlade,

I'm going to be leaving the store for a while. I've tried leaving off Soulcasting for the past week or so, but it's become complicated, and it's possible I have a lead on a solution. If there's one for me, maybe there's one for you. Mine is risky even if it can work, but I don't exactly have much to lose. Not since what happened at the Hospital. Have you felt weird about that, by the way? I feel like we both handled things our own way. 

I should be back within at least a day in case you check in. If I'm not... well, I'll try not to Soulcast anything on my trip. I shouldn't need to, I brought extra iron just in case. 

I also finally made those sockets you asked for. It feels so long ago you did. There's a handful of aluminum slugs that fit them too. I hope they were what you had in mind for more aluminum burning. Ask Poller for them if you'd like them. For you, they're free. You've done enough for me to earn that much.

All the best,

Cassandra Adama.

 

[Ashbringer he/him]

Quote

This thread is now in Era 6.

Cassandra had made a few changes to the Emporium in the past few days. Not a lot, as she was the same old Cassandra - even if this new body better fit "Cassandra" rather than her nickname. But Cassie was still nice from time to time.

The biggest change was a noticeable increase in gemstones in the main room. Most were simply lights, turned on instead of the old electrical ones. Those were still installed, of course, but Stormlight felt right. It might become an issue if any Surgebinders wanted a better deal, but the Light also helped her Soulcasting, and it wasn't like it would be in short supply. A few other changes were around - a slightly better chair for Poller, for one, he was still trying to understand why she'd Changed herself. Blast, she needed to really talk to him about it all. NullBlade too. She couldn't really see anything in him, but Cassie still felt bad she'd seemingly solved all her problems with a magic trick while he went through an entire Forgery seemingly the same.

The other change was an Alerter at the front door. It was buzzing.

Cassandra stood up from her smithy in the back of the store, methodically folding a few small amethysts into her forearm. She could finish that part later.

For now, there were customers. So she walked toward the empty desk, paused a moment, then went and opened the door. There stood Technotic and... she wasn't certain, but that was the individual who'd been in his store before she arrived, yes?

"Hello, Technotic," she said, giving him a slight grin. "This is a store, you know. You can just come through the front door. Although I'd prefer mine remain in one piece," she added, turning to the other figure. "And you are?"

A thought struck her.

"And apologies for the..." she paused, then gestured vaguely at her own now-metallic features, "changes. It was a drastic measure, but I'd say it worked out quite well, no?"

@EmulatonStromenkiin @mathiau

Quote

At this point probably can use the location thread for post-aftermath things. Also hopefully I am back! School is hard.

Also pretty sure Cassie still doesn't know Demaren's actual first name.

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Ashbringer
Yay quote boxes

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Quote

yea, don't think she was told his name.

Demaren smiled slightly as the door opened, but then he froze. He had not realized what Cassandra's plan had been. She was very recognizable as herself, but metal there was an odd beauty to it, once he got past his memories of what she had been.

"I'm sure that your door will remain in one piece, Cassandra, so long as you haven't angered anyone who would destroy it. And please, call me Demaren. I'm normally only Technotic in the shop or with uptight guildpeople," he said as he stepped through the door, Balance trailing behind him. 

"It seems to have worked out quite well, and you don't have to worry about the savantism getting worse. I'm not sure that you have a use for the augumentor glove anymore, though." He gestured with the package he was carrying in his free hand. "That's half the reason we came here."

Balance studied Cassandra as Demaren talked. If she had once been human, then she was probably well acquainted with savantism. He hoped so. The areas were the flesh changed to lines were beginning to itch strangely. As Demaren trailed off, he stepped forward.

"I am the other reason we came here," he said, his voice buzzing distinctly. "I am Balance the Realizer, and I hope you have advice for this."

Balance pushed back his hood, revealing the wireframe lines that replaced from the right of his jaw down to the base of his neck. He pulled down his sleeve to his elbow, revealing his wireframe hand and arm. he stood there, mildly uncomfortable.

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

Cassie gave a smile. "I'll still take it, Demaren. I move smoothly in this form, just not very... fast. And I'd hate for your work to have gone to waste."

She then turned slightly toward the other individual. Balance the Realizer. Either an Epic or a Returned, based on that name, and likely the former. The man moved his covering cloak, showing lines of blue that... were replacing his skin. Nearly half of it, from the look of it. Well, anyone else could say they didn't see that every day.

"Interesting. One moment," Cassie said, then burned iron. The familiar blue lines shot out from the world around her, focusing more on the rebar of the building behind the pair. They were a different color, Balance's lines. Made sense. Allomancy could do a lot, but the sight granted by steel and iron was limited to vision almost entirely.

"I don't know much about Epics, but I know some about Change. Is this a new phenomenon, or has it been this way for a while? Has it spread?"

This could be tricky. Other magic systems tended to mimic each other, but Epic abilities usually didn't follow that rule. Like the Old Magic. Which meant her experience would only get her so far. And she couldn't very well recommend her own method.

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

"The work on the glove was far from wasted, I came up with some excellent ideas about guardcloth while making it," Demaren replied with a smile.

Balance remained still as Cassie examined him, however she was doing it.

"I don't know much about Epics, but I know some about Change. Is this a new phenomenon, or has it been this way for a while? Has it spread?" he heard her ask.

"It has only manifested since the Forgery broke, and the accompanying rush of energy. It spread about an inch down the arm the day after the breaking, but I have not noticed anything else since," Balance replied as he pushed his sleeve back up his arm.

Demaren watched with interest and curiosity. He had not had a chance to see the full extent of the replacement, the seeming savantism yet.

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

Cassandra nodded. It wasn't spreading on its own, which was good. But other than that, this was alien to her.

"The Forgery shouldn't have had a large effect on you, unless you both arrived earlier than I thought," she said. "As far as I know, aside from the change I made myself-" again, gesturing at her bronze skin "-I am the same. Although perhaps my perception is faulty."

She flexed an arm. "Does it still function? And were you using your abilities at the time, or since? The Forgery is a cosmere art, and it could form strange interactions with more exotic Spiritwebs. Regardless... I think this is beyond my knowledge. The Einladung or the Scholar's Guild may be better places to look."

Cassie frowned. It was so similar. Certainly some principles had to be conserved. Soulcasting savantism was an issue of a soul transforming, or becoming distant. Epics had wounds sometimes, she knew, but could the deForgery really knock someone's soul loose?

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Quote

Okay, some explanation. until the breaking of the forgery, he had been teetering on the edge of the external effects of the savantism starting. His natural defenses failed against the sudden release of excess energy from the deForgery. Because he does not think that he should exist, he was in danger of being erased by the deForgery, but Calamity's investiture came to his defense, saving him. However, it used enough of his bodily energy at a time when his defenses were low to trigger the beginning of the change of his physical aspect. Now, if he uses too much energy, his body will be changed to energy to fuel the wireframes. If more than 12 square inches changes, he is knocked out.

 

13 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

Cassandra nodded. It wasn't spreading on its own, which was good. But other than that, this was alien to her.

"The Forgery shouldn't have had a large effect on you, unless you both arrived earlier than I thought," she said. "As far as I know, aside from the change I made myself-" again, gesturing at her bronze skin "-I am the same. Although perhaps my perception is faulty."

She flexed an arm. "Does it still function? And were you using your abilities at the time, or since? The Forgery is a cosmere art, and it could form strange interactions with more exotic Spiritwebs. Regardless... I think this is beyond my knowledge. The Einladung or the Scholar's Guild may be better places to look."

Cassie frowned. It was so similar. Certainly some principles had to be conserved. Soulcasting savantism was an issue of a soul transforming, or becoming distant. Epics had wounds sometimes, she knew, but could the deForgery really knock someone's soul loose?

@EmulatonStromenkiin

"The arm functions perfectly well, though I do not seem to be able to feel things with it. I can sense where it is and how much force I am using, but I don't actually feel anything with it. My abilities seem to work perfectly fine, the wireframes at least. I...I haven't tried to Realize anything in ages," Balance replied. "Not since I made my cloak." He flexed his arm and hand, showing how it moved, without stretching or folding. 

"I can try to realize something now, but do you have anything you need specifically? I'd hate wasting the energy. I can't Realize anything too complex, but I can do most any material. Especially if you have an example of it."

@Ashbringer 

[Ashbringer he/him]

Quote

Good to know! But Cassie really has no experience with this beyond her own transformation. 

"If Realizing works like Soulcasting, it could do something like this. I had to pull a few tricks to get feeling back as well. But Realizing... I've never heard that term before," Cassie said, curious. It was fairly obvious it was an ability connected to Balance the Realizer, but if he was simply an Epic, it would likely be unique. Which meant if it started going wrong...

"I'm... finding I don't need much at the moment. Business is doing well."

She did have a few ideas - another indestructible dress would prove quite handy - but that seemed a bit too thoughtless for his situation. So Cassie went for another idea.

"If you try and Realize something without thinking, specifically, does anything happen? Most magics need Intent, but for Soulcasting, sometimes you can get away with a little less," she said, pulling out a small slug of iron. She held it in her Soulcaster and willed the change to happen, putting all her focus on the Transformation and none on the end. The result was a slug of metal, the same color and alloy as her skin. Cassie rolled it around her palm a few times.

"If the deForgery caused this, maybe the issue isn't with the power at all."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

12 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"If Realizing works like Soulcasting, it could do something like this. I had to pull a few tricks to get feeling back as well. But Realizing... I've never heard that term before," Cassie said, curious. It was fairly obvious it was an ability connected to Balance the Realizer, but if he was simply an Epic, it would likely be unique. Which meant if it started going wrong...

"I'm... finding I don't need much at the moment. Business is doing well."

She did have a few ideas - another indestructible dress would prove quite handy - but that seemed a bit too thoughtless for his situation. So Cassie went for another idea.

"If you try and Realize something without thinking, specifically, does anything happen? Most magics need Intent, but for Soulcasting, sometimes you can get away with a little less," she said, pulling out a small slug of iron. She held it in her Soulcaster and willed the change to happen, putting all her focus on the Transformation and none on the end. The result was a slug of metal, the same color and alloy as her skin. Cassie rolled it around her palm a few times.

"If the deForgery caused this, maybe the issue isn't with the power at all."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

"My abilities are from Calamity, and as far as I know they are unique. As for creating without thinking, I am not sure what you mean. I must create the shape out of my wireframes, and those require knowledge of what it is I wish to make, both in shape an material. Material is less important, especially if I am copying something else, and There seems to be a default that is relevant to what I am making. To realize, I have to concentrate for a few minutes to Realize, and so it most certainly requires Intent." He absently scratched the back of his head. "And it felt more like the deForgery triggered it, but it was always something that could happen. Potential possibility, if you will."

He looked strait into Cassie's Gemstone eyes. "Are you sure that there is nothing you want? In the past, Realizing wipes me out for two days, regardless of what I Realize, so I wish to not wast it." He grimaced. "Plus, it would be something of a payment. I'm in enough debt as is."

@Ashbringer 

[Ashbringer he/him]

"There are many things I want," Cassie said, solidly meeting Balance's gaze. "Success. But most of them aren't physical. And at this point, pursuing those goals are... on hold, so to speak. I'm still understanding what I've become, and I'm hesitant to invest in other ventures."

She finally blinked, a more forced reaction. "I suppose what I mean is, I don't need any perfected object at the moment. And I don't believe you owe me anything. Advice is free. If something like this would drain you significantly... why give it to me?"

Cassie knew what she should recommend. Go to the Scholar's Guild, or the Hospital, and Realize something there. Let people who could actually understand what was going on get a view, find a cause and a solution. They would have a better chance to help Balance.

It would make him a guinea pig. And her a hypocrite.

"If you insist on making something for me..." she said, pausing for a moment, "... a dress. Like this one, left arm covered, but a dark purple. And however perfect you can. Pockets, patterns, fireproof, indestructible, whatever you think I'd... appreciate. Like I said, it's not exceptionally important. But it would be nice."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

19 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"There are many things I want," Cassie said, solidly meeting Balance's gaze. "Success. But most of them aren't physical. And at this point, pursuing those goals are... on hold, so to speak. I'm still understanding what I've become, and I'm hesitant to invest in other ventures."

She finally blinked, a more forced reaction. "I suppose what I mean is, I don't need any perfected object at the moment. And I don't believe you owe me anything. Advice is free. If something like this would drain you significantly... why give it to me?"

Cassie knew what she should recommend. Go to the Scholar's Guild, or the Hospital, and Realize something there. Let people who could actually understand what was going on get a view, find a cause and a solution. They would have a better chance to help Balance.

It would make him a guinea pig. And her a hypocrite.

"If you insist on making something for me..." she said, pausing for a moment, "... a dress. Like this one, left arm covered, but a dark purple. And however perfect you can. Pockets, patterns, fireproof, indestructible, whatever you think I'd... appreciate. Like I said, it's not exceptionally important. But it would be nice."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

Balance nodded. "That makes sense, knowledge is important. As for the dress, that should not be very hard. I'm not sure how many properties I will be able to imbue into it, but I will see what I can do." Moving to the center of the room, where he had plenty of clear area around him, he began to focus.

Light blue lines pulled off of him, streaming to a central point, then expanding to form a vague shape of a dress like Cassie was wearing. more lines pulled off of him, shining brighter and with a darker blue. His eyes took on a strange blue sheen as his lips curled back, revealing his teeth. The image of the dress became more and more defined as energy flowed from Balance, and it's color depended into a dark purple. Balance bared his teeth, the energy was resisting slightly.

"Become!" he commanded with a final push of energy. There was a bright flash, and the dark purple dress floated in the air for a moment before dropping to the ground.

Balance slumped as a deep exhaustion settled over him. "It should fit you, Cassandra, regardless if you grow or change. It is also self-repairing, as long as some of it remains. It is fire resistant, but I couldn't manage fireproof." his face tingled as, he assumed, the lines spread slowly from the patch he had before. "Do you have a place I could rest for a bit? I'm about to pass out."

@Ashbringer

Edited January 12, 2023 by EmulatonStromenkiin

[Ashbringer he/him]

Oh, rusts.

Cassie left the dress in a heap on the floor - it was a nice dress, but if it could repair itself a little dirt could wait - and attempted to run for the first time in days. She got about two steps before nearly toppling over, whatever strength existing in her legs unable to lift her into the air. Cassie cursed again before power-walking over to her desk, grabbing her new chair and burning iron to Pull it along a little faster.

"Here," she said, pushing it behind him. "Well, it definitely worked. And definitely did... damage." Were the lines that far across his face before? She was almost certain no.

"Let's not try that again. But anything feel different?" She couldn't tell if Balance was in any state to respond, but it would be better to learn something new before forgetfulness set in.

She gave a glance at Technotic - no, Demaren. "Do you know anything about this? You had a motivator of his, right?"

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

17 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

Oh, rusts.

Cassie left the dress in a heap on the floor - it was a nice dress, but if it could repair itself a little dirt could wait - and attempted to run for the first time in days. She got about two steps before nearly toppling over, whatever strength existing in her legs unable to lift her into the air. Cassie cursed again before power-walking over to her desk, grabbing her new chair and burning iron to Pull it along a little faster.

"Here," she said, pushing it behind him. "Well, it definitely worked. And definitely did... damage." Were the lines that far across his face before? She was almost certain no.

"Let's not try that again. But anything feel different?" She couldn't tell if Balance was in any state to respond, but it would be better to learn something new before forgetfulness set in.

She gave a glance at Technotic - no, Demaren. "Do you know anything about this? You had a motivator of his, right?"

@EmulatonStromenkiin

Balance stumbled over to the chair, collapsing into it and putting his head between his knees. He remained in that position for several seconds before he recovered enough to sit up and speak. 

"It felt normal," he explained in a raspy voice. "Except for one point near the end, when there seemed to be a strange blockage. I had to push hard to finish Realizing it." He rubbed absently at his face with his flesh hand.

"I can feel it moving across my face. It doesn't hurt, but it itches." Overcome by a wave of dizziness, he put his head back between his knees. 

"Fascinating," Demaren murmured to himself as he watched. He turned to Cassie.

"I have never seen anything like this. I was completely unaware of this aspect of his abilities. As for me having a motivator based on him, I don't think that will help. The nature of the motivator I have is focused on his wireframes, and is coded to work specifically on one thing. It would probably explode if I tried to Realize with it. I did not build it to withstand that much energy movement. If I had to guess, his Realizing seems to create objects out of pure energy. Given his exhaustion, I believe it draws on his bodily energy as a sort of fuel. The massive amount of energy and presumably investiture moving through him is probably the cause of the change, even though it seems to flow outward from certain points instead of changing instantly, like with soulcasting." He fell silent, looking at Balance as he thought. 

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

On 1/14/2023 at 4:17 PM, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Balance stumbled over to the chair, collapsing into it and putting his head between his knees. He remained in that position for several seconds before he recovered enough to sit up and speak. 

"It felt normal," he explained in a raspy voice. "Except for one point near the end, when there seemed to be a strange blockage. I had to push hard to finish Realizing it." He rubbed absently at his face with his flesh hand.

"I can feel it moving across my face. It doesn't hurt, but it itches." Overcome by a wave of dizziness, he put his head back between his knees. 

"Fascinating," Demaren murmured to himself as he watched. He turned to Cassie.

"I have never seen anything like this. I was completely unaware of this aspect of his abilities. As for me having a motivator based on him, I don't think that will help. The nature of the motivator I have is focused on his wireframes, and is coded to work specifically on one thing. It would probably explode if I tried to Realize with it. I did not build it to withstand that much energy movement. If I had to guess, his Realizing seems to create objects out of pure energy. Given his exhaustion, I believe it draws on his bodily energy as a sort of fuel. The massive amount of energy and presumably investiture moving through him is probably the cause of the change, even though it seems to flow outward from certain points instead of changing instantly, like with soulcasting." He fell silent, looking at Balance as he thought. 

@Ashbringer

It was strange to see an Epic in weakness. They normally thought of themselves like Shardbearers, untouchable. Balance was somewhat different, but it was still strange for Cassie to see.

"Pushing against something blocking your Investiture is dangerous. Some things give, but most things don't. And it'll drain you until one of you breaks. Especially when you're draining your own soul. Do not try it again."

Hypocrite.

Cassie shook off the thought, looking at Demaren. "I know this seems like something I would understand. And some of it I do. But I had to take many specific steps to even stay alive with the damage I did to myself. And that's when I still have a body. Wireframes appear to be quite different... and incompatible. We need to find someone who actually understands this. Understands Epic powers and how they change you, and how the Forgery can change that."

She gathered the Realized dress of the floor. It did look nice, didn't it? But it being the last thing Balance ever made... that didn't seem right.

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

11 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

It was strange to see an Epic in weakness. They normally thought of themselves like Shardbearers, untouchable. Balance was somewhat different, but it was still strange for Cassie to see.

"Pushing against something blocking your Investiture is dangerous. Some things give, but most things don't. And it'll drain you until one of you breaks. Especially when you're draining your own soul. Do not try it again."

Hypocrite.

Cassie shook off the thought, looking at Demaren. "I know this seems like something I would understand. And some of it I do. But I had to take many specific steps to even stay alive with the damage I did to myself. And that's when I still have a body. Wireframes appear to be quite different... and incompatible. We need to find someone who actually understands this. Understands Epic powers and how they change you, and how the Forgery can change that."

She gathered the Realized dress of the floor. It did look nice, didn't it? But it being the last thing Balance ever made... that didn't seem right.

Balance nodded drowsily at Cassie's statement.

Demaren frowned thoughtfully. "Near the end of the Forgery, something changed. Something shifted, and I began to feel strange tugs in my mind and body. It triggered my missing leg to hurt in a way it hadn't for months."

Balance sat up shakily. "He's right," he said. "I felt the tug, and saw the world start to shift. Anyone from outside was not affected by the Forgery before that, but after... something changed so that we were included."

Demaren nodded. "That may have made you vulnerable to the deForgery. Or rather, to the massive amount of energy that was released as the Forgery broke. I wonder where the rest went. How much energy does it take to bind an entire world?"

Balance sat up the rest of the way, and noticed Cassie gathering up the dress from off the floor.

"I never used that aspect of my powers much. Seemed rather impractical. The temporary wireframe constructs seemed much more useful and versatile." He looked directly into her gemstone eyes, his left one still golden, but his right with small streaks of a deep blue. 

"The dress was meant to be used. Either by you or someone else, but probably you." He smiled faintly. "It is good to create instead of destroy, for once."

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

On 1/21/2023 at 0:06 PM, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Balance nodded drowsily at Cassie's statement.

Demaren frowned thoughtfully. "Near the end of the Forgery, something changed. Something shifted, and I began to feel strange tugs in my mind and body. It triggered my missing leg to hurt in a way it hadn't for months."

Balance sat up shakily. "He's right," he said. "I felt the tug, and saw the world start to shift. Anyone from outside was not affected by the Forgery before that, but after... something changed so that we were included."

Demaren nodded. "That may have made you vulnerable to the deForgery. Or rather, to the massive amount of energy that was released as the Forgery broke. I wonder where the rest went. How much energy does it take to bind an entire world?"

Balance sat up the rest of the way, and noticed Cassie gathering up the dress from off the floor.

"I never used that aspect of my powers much. Seemed rather impractical. The temporary wireframe constructs seemed much more useful and versatile." He looked directly into her gemstone eyes, his left one still golden, but his right with small streaks of a deep blue. 

"The dress was meant to be used. Either by you or someone else, but probably you." He smiled faintly. "It is good to create instead of destroy, for once."

@Ashbringer

"It will be used," Cassie said offhandedly. "As for the Forgery... I don't know if it changed me. Or rather, how much of my transformation was from the Forgery or from me. But the Alleystorm grants the city a massive amount of Investiture, regularly. I'd imagine something on that scale would need... much more. A Well's worth, at least. And then the same power to undo it, or the same power being unleashed as it's undone... but we don't get to flow down the river, we just break against the current."

She'd died to become what she was. She knew that. But with what was happening to these two... maybe she'd died earlier than she'd thought.

She looked back at Balance. "Rusts, that's definitely worse. The... temporary abilities, they don't affect the spreading at all?"

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

11 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"It will be used," Cassie said offhandedly. "As for the Forgery... I don't know if it changed me. Or rather, how much of my transformation was from the Forgery or from me. But the Alleystorm grants the city a massive amount of Investiture, regularly. I'd imagine something on that scale would need... much more. A Well's worth, at least. And then the same power to undo it, or the same power being unleashed as it's undone... but we don't get to flow down the river, we just break against the current."

She'd died to become what she was. She knew that. But with what was happening to these two... maybe she'd died earlier than she'd thought.

She looked back at Balance. "Rusts, that's definitely worse. The... temporary abilities, they don't affect the spreading at all?"

Balance shook his head. "Not that I know of. I.." he stopped suddenly as his eyes began to glow brilliantly. Faint lines like his wireframes streamed from his chest, pointing out of one of the shops. It maintained for a few seconds, then vanished, and he slumped forward.

"Demaren," Balance said horsely. "Where is the other motivator?"

Demaren paled. He slipped on a glove, made a few gestures, then paled further. "The safe I had it in was left open, and the only things missing are the motivator and the channeler I used to harness its power. Parts of the alarm system must have been destroyed by the deForgery in some way."

Balance pushed himself to his feet. "We have to get it back. We cannot have it out, not with the destruction my powers can cause." he began to walk towards the door, but his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the floor.

Demaren sighed, leaning carefully back against the wall. "I'm sorry about this, Cassie. I had no clue this would happen. I'll call up some people to bring Balance back to my shop." He carefully extracted a Selphone from his pocket.

"Is this Brutes and Brains? Excellent, I have an ... object I need to move from Cassandra's Metallurgic Emporium to Technotic's Shop. Alright, thank you."

He put the Selphone away and turned to Cassie. "They will be here in a bit. If you need me, you know where to contact me." He smiled. "You are an excellent customer."

Two large and brawny men entered the Emporium, and Demaren pointed at Balance's prone form. They shrugged, and picked him up easily. Demaren followed them out the door silently, moving smoothly in spite of his missing limb.