Voidus

If you've got room for points for something that's on the Index then that should be fine, I mean let us know as an FYI so that we can update the character sheet but probably won't need approval. Exception would be things like Nightwatcher Boons/Banes, Epic powers, Alcatraz Talents. Things that are kind of fuzzy and variable basically. Compounding does add additional points per the Index, from memory I think it adds 100 points, though in some cases we might make exceptions since that's just a generalization.

I think we might need to decide on an exception for Knights Radiant, swearing their oaths is a little too integral to who they are and if a thematically appropriate moment arises for them then it's hard to pass up. Might raise the question again in the mod chat, in the meantime community commentary is obviously welcome. This is more a matter of what we as a community want to accept than a moderation matter, it may lead to some characters experiencing power creep which was a big concern for some at the end of the last era.

Official answer was that if it would push them over the limits of power level that we'd ask for community approval before approving it, we did discuss this in the mod PM and said that we'd deal with it case-by-case as well. There's definitely room for that to be adjusted though, off the cuff suggestion would be that maybe we allocate a certain number of points to characters each era which they can use to gain equipment, skills, oaths, etc. I wouldn't want to do a blanket approval because it might be abused and kind of defeats the purpose of scoring in the first place, but if we place an upper limit it could work. EDIT: Ninja'd

I think part of it is building up a history, ideally we see characters grow over time to become powerful. Just creating an OP character is a lot less satisfying and their power level can end up defining them rather than their personality or history.

Sudiov grimaced. His eyes wandered the room, searching for some kind of other solution before finally they focussed on Deteca again just as she whispered to him. Slowly, mechanically he gave her a slight nod. "If that's what it takes." He agreed. "Shall I call him then? He might see what's here as well, would that be a problem?" Decision made he returned to a polite expression, and asked to confirm if contact should be established yet. "I'd just need to try to feel where..." His voice trailed off as his eyes narrowed, focusing in on Deteca once again. He regarded her silently for a moment before shaking his head, seeming to dispel whatever thought had distracted him. "Apologies." He said, breaking the eye contact and hoping it hadn't been too rude.

Voidus' eyes peered at her curiously for a moment longer, freezing Laurelai's own expression in place as she wondered if she'd done something wrong. But then the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly into a smile. "Clever." He said, and his eyes seemed warmer than before, less terrifying and more comforting. Mac echoed the statement at the same time before offering something for healing. It wasn't a fabrial, so what was it? Another unsealed metalmind? One with health stored up>? "However." Voidus continued. "That would take quite some time. We may need to consider other methods to gather information as well, ensure we get as much as we can. Do you have tools with you?" Laurelai stared back for a moment, a little dejected that she couldn't be as helpful as she'd wanted. Certainly figuring out each stamp would take a little bit but it wasn't that long was it? And then she grew confused at the question. Tools? She was about to ask him to clarify when she realized what he meant, Forgery tools, Soulstone, carving tools and so on. She did have some at home of course but she rarely relied on them. Embarassed she realized that he obviously wouldn't know about her boon. "Yes, sir." She said, nervously. "But I won't need them, I'm a little different from most Forgers. It uh... it should make things a little faster as well." Once again that intent gaze froze her still, she felt as though she were being dissected by those eyes as they tried to peer through her. Then Voidus held out an offering hand. "Could you demonstrate?" He asked. His words were placid, calm even, but something about his posture, his gaze, seemed very familiar and at the same time overwhelmingly intimidating. She recognized the look from Lita, from Mac, from Laurelai herself. The eyes of someone who found a new secret and was intent on unravelling it. He's... curious? About me? The thought that she'd be interesting to these people had never occurred to her, they'd called her over because she might have information but she herself wasn't that special was she? Not compared to the things they were used to. At the same time, Laurelai drew a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated. A different history, a different decision. A different attempt to gather information. She'd seen the elevator when she'd entered, briefly she'd evaluated the relative benefits of openly admitting they were from the DA or trying to join the general crowd and using their numbers to slip away somewhere else. She'd wanted to find out what they wanted to talk to the DA about so she'd identified herself but if she'd trusted Lita a little more to handle things, they'd both had their pens, they could have communicated still. ********************************************************* Laurelai stared around at the entrance to PlasmaCore, noting the people who had continued on in a large crowd. She could lose herself in that crowd, without identifying herself as DA she might be under less scrutiny until they found out, she'd have more flexibility to look around. Finally coming to a decision, she lengthened her stride a little, moving faster than Lita and paused only to briefly whisper. "Tell them who you're with, you don't know me. Use the pen if you need to." She quickly moved on, separating herself from the two of them and joining the general crowd. She pretended to be curious and excited along with the rest of them, entertained a few brief conversations before excusing herself as she examined their surroundings. She saw the elevator that someone had made use of, they'd likely see if she entered it but if she could find out what they were really doing here and make an escape then that might be worth it. Uncharacteristically bold, she slipped through the crowd, fending off any new conversations as they came. Finally she had to resort to speed and confidence, walking quickly towards the elevator as though she belonged, as though she was confident that she could use it without issue. After a brief journey the elevator stopped, the doors slid open. No alarms seemed to be blaring and there were no rifles pointed at her. Cautiously she took a step forward, her ears only just heard the sudden splitting of the air as dozens of darts were fired towards her. She felt them pierce the skin, felt the liquid within them enter her veins. Felt her consciousness fade. *********************************************************************************** Laurelai's eyes opened incredibly groggily, still in the Alley as new memories suddenly assaulted her. She felt small pricks of pain all over her body as she lethargically lifted one hand towards her neck where a number of wounds appeared. The blood had all dried up now and the entry wounds were small, but storms that smarted. She hadn't been stabbed that many times since she got her first set of spikes. She focused on the small gold coin Mac had given her, tapping the a tiny stream of healing from it to clear her head and remove the wounds. "Well they had traps." She said, still rubbing at her neck. "Couldn't see the trigger but it was kind of overkill. That much sedative probably should have killed me. I don't remember anything past getting shot but I'm guessing they stabilized me in some way. Guessing there would have been some questioning if it had been much longer." She gave them a brief description of what she'd seen, though other than the traps she hadn't really seen anything that they didn't already see. They listened as she outlined what she'd seen and then finally at the conclusion seemed to trade looks again. Voidus raised an eyebrow in Mac's direction. "Where did you find these two?" He asked with a smile.

Nothing stopping the same kinds of characters from emerging in the future, for this era people said they wanted more balanced characters but we could well reverse that in future eras. Technically you could even try to get an OP character approved this era, though we haven't had many requests so far but one of them was indeed approved.

It was probably an homage from someone in R&D. For canonicity sake it'd probably be retconned to something other than the actual Shards but yeah, that is the setting that we're all in. If something causes issues then it can be discussed but Winter didn't tend to abuse that power to railroad plots or anything so honestly I'd say it'd probably work out fine even if that did happen.

@Sherlock Holmes

Voidus listened carefully as the woman, Lita, gave a report of what they'd seen. He traded a glance with the others when she mentioned that they were fundraising but left her to finish her report. As soon as he'd heard that a party was being thrown in the Alleycity he'd known what to expect, but even so an escaped criminal a contingent of Marines and the unknowns behind the security of the building itself were a little much. So this PlasmaCore wanted to request funding from us in order to fund whatever it is they've created to draw from the Void? They're either idiots or suicidal. It wasn't as illuminating as he'd have liked but apparently they at least had enough sense to keep everything behind closed doors and enough security that even a DA infiltrator couldn't find out. "Ways other than Hemalurgy exist." Voidus conceded. "Though none so precise or freely available, but the spiritual realm is not as unalterable as some believe." He gave Lita a final nod of approval, considering the short amount of time that she'd been with the DA she seemed to be adapting remarkably quickly. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Laurelai allowed Lita to turn in her own report first, she'd noted a number of finer details about the attendees but Laurelai and Lita had both already sent those details along to Mac, that likely wasn't what they were asking about now. Like Lita, Laurelai found it difficult to meet with the intense gaze that Voidus was directing their way, though thankfully Lita was gaining most of the attention right now. She did catch herself glancing up at each of them however, gauging their reactions to each part of the report. Trying to read people and guess their motives was far too ingrained a habit for her to be able to shake it due to a little fear. Especially now that it seemed that they were only here to give a report and not to be executed. Probably. Lita finally concluded her report, and while Voidus spent a brief moment commenting on it, all too quickly his gaze turned to her. She felt an immediate and instinctive urge to look away, but somehow managed to center herself, without using Forgery she could still become someone who was capable of this much, she could look her superiors in the eye while delivering a report. Gods she wished she'd had time to change out of this Vorin dress before she got here. What did those women do with their safehands? Then again Vorin women weren't allowed to particpate in most military matters so they probably never needed to worry about where to hold their hands while giving a report. "And you?" Voidus asked, turning towards her. "I don't recall your name, have you worked with one of my labs?" "Uh, no sir." She said confidently, not likely that she'd forget something like that. "But it's Laurelai." For a brief instant he seemed to react to the name, his eyes shifted and became somehow even more intense and he seemed on the verge of saying something, but before she knew it they were back the way they had always been. She dismissed the idea, she must have imagined it. Or he'd likely seen the name in one of the reports she submitted, she did put through a lot of requests for records access after all. "I can't say I have much to add directly sir." Laurelai began. "I didn't see or hear much beyond what Lita did, though I made note of everyone I recognized." She saw them begin to look to each other again, seeming on the verge of conversing with each other and compiling what they'd learned. She did note a touch of what almost seemed like disappointment in their expressions. With that, Laurelai's smile widened further, it wasn't often that she'd get to make an impression like this. She doubted she could really impress any of these people but perhaps she could surprise them at least. "But sir." Laurelai continued, watching as the three of them began to pin her down beneath their gazes once more. "I uh... I did think about going lots of places to get information. Came up with plenty of reasons I could have too, very plausible reasons." She saw them staring at her for another moment and realized she hadn't really explained herself. "Oh, uh... I'm a Forger, I mean I know that Mac already knew." She stammered, idly wondering whether she was supposed to refer to Mac by a title or something. Her smile briefly slipped into one of concern before she corrected it and asked hesitantly. "I don't suppose anyone has a Regrowth Fabrial handy? I can avoid any of the ones where I'm dead at least but I'll probably be pretty badly injured in a number of these possibilities."

Laurelai hesitated at Lita's uncharacteristic floundering, though she habitually made a mental note of it. Something to do with the one she was talking about? Forian? She was torn between pretending she hadn't noticed and offering a comforting arm when Lita's attention seemed to be distracted again by the three who stood at the front of the gathering. Laurelai glanced over as well and saw all three looking in their direction, the Stranger seemed to be beckoning them over. She instinctively gulped as her mouth became instantly dry, thankfully hearing Lita do the same in sync. Well at least I'll die with someone interesting. A distracted part of her mind chimed in pessimistically before she silenced it. No, they're not going to kill us. We didn't do anything did we? She sent a sidelong look at Lita as they both began walking up, the woman had been eavesdropping them after all. Was that something they could be killed for? She managed to hold off the sweat that began to bead on her forehead through willpower and raised her head confidently. She was almost certain that they weren't about to be killed. Probably. She was no more sure on what the correct etiquette would be than Lita was, settling for a small nod towards each of them. It was her first time meeting any of them other than Mac, and while Mac had always been somewhat approachable he wasn't exactly the same as these two. The only things she'd ever heard about either of them was that they were powerful and brilliant scientists, no one had ever mentioned what you were supposed to do when you met one of them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voidus grinned wryly at the Strangers elusive commentary, it had seemed like an interesting match. He'd need to find some way to sync up memories across timelines in order to recall it. His eyes began to wander, distracted for a moment as he mentally drafted some plans before he caught sight of the two Denizens that had been called over, now approaching them directly. He examined them both as they introduced themselves, feeling a little awkward as one of them bowed towards him but he kept his expression impassive and simply gave a small nod of acknowledgement to each of them. One of the two women introduced herself as Lita Attar, the one the Strangers shade had spoken to evidently, the other greeted each of them with a nod but seemed to be staying silent for now. He was still sure he'd seen her somewhere, though she was a little young to have been around when Voidus was a more active researcher. Then again, appearances in the Alleys could be deceiving, Voidus wasn't exactly as young as he looked either. "Thank you both for coming." He began. "I understand that the two of you attended a party last night to investigate a new group that has been rising in the city? We'd like to hear the details from you directly about what you found there. Did you gather anything about their motives?" He stared at them in turns, intently watching each of their eyes.

Voidus let out a hefty groan as the iron spike exited his torso, the Stranger had targeted a bindpoint of course, and whether out of professional pride or because he expected Voidus to block it he hadn't aimed for a major point like the heart, he'd gone for one of the narrowest points possible, even in the middle of a fight this chaotic. The final surge of strength from his legs propelled him backwards, giving him a little space to breathe. Leaning to one side as he landed Voidus let out a small globule of blood that had collected in his mouth. The spike had stolen the strength of his muscles, which were barely able to move any longer. But there was more than one way to move a body. Voidus burned Iron and Steel simultaneously, reading the mass of blue lines that exploded out from him and focusing on the finest of them. A continuous and gentle push against the trace metals and ores in the ground kept his center of mass stable and upright, and with a surge of concentration Voidus looked at the lines that led into his own body, towards the myriad spikes placed along it. One arm raised before him, the fingers clenched and then released as he acclimated himself to the sensations Got it. "Well that was a low blow." He commented as he watched the Stranger from across him, both waiting for another opportunity. "Does that mean you wanted to move away from close quarters? Onto something a little larger in scale?" Before the Stranger could get a response out, Voidus aimed a surge of Transformation into the ground beneath their feet. Stranger's finesse with detailed Soulcasting was even better than his but if he focused on speed and scale... The ground beneath them sunk as top 10 feet of earth was Soulcast into tar for a kilometer in every direction. Prepared for it, Voidus pushed even more powerfully against the ground, lifting himself up until he hung over the colossal tar pit and threw another, smaller surge of Transformation into it, this time transmuting a small section into flame. Voidus locked eyes with the Stranger for a moment before the flames began to race across the surface, exploding out from their point of origin and setting the entire area aflame. The Stranger grinned back, rising slightly above the tar just as Voidus had before, against all intuition, suddenly rocketing back down. He tapped an immense amount of weight in order to slam back into the surface of the tar, promptly creating an immense geyser that hurled the flaming substance up and directly towards Voidus. Unexpected. But tar flew slowly, and with the speed that the two travelled at it was practically an eternity before it reached Voidus. Taking advantage he tapped a thread of Connection to the planet and began sketching out Aons, quickly discovering the central cookie Aon that the Stranger had spoken of he deployed an Aon Edo shield to defend against the flying tar. But now he'd lost sight of the Stranger in amongst the obscuring tar and the sea of flames.

For an instant Laurelai's eyes crinkled up as she fought back the urge to let out an honest laugh for once, but she quickly wrangled her facial muscles back into position and returned to a slight smile instead. Got to keep up appearances after all. She nodded agreeably, dropping the subject as soon as Lita began to ignore it, though she still sent the other woman a sidelong glance of admiration. "Well I'll be putting in a request for hazard pay of course." She said smiling. "Guild pride and saving the world or what have you is all well and good, but if we don't get enough of a pay rise to get a proper drink when it's all over then, well..." Laurelai leaned in conspiratorially and spoke in a whisper. "I'm going to stop doing R&D's paperwork for them. Those three could probably disintegrate us with a glance but even they'd probably struggle if they suddenly got snowed under with a backlog of paperwork, logs, research exemptions and resourcing requests." She had no idea if it was true of course, for all she knew they could simply wave a hand and magically complete it all. But it helped break the tension a little bit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voidus frowned at Mac's response, he felt his agitation rising again, the need to stop whatever this was before it continued. But once more he forced himself back to calmness, and from that somewhat more rational standpoint conceded that Mac had a point. Not much use in bursting in, destroying everything in sight if the one behind it all just started all over again from somewhere else. "Well you're our head of counterintelligence for a reason." Voidus said in consent. "So we need to hide our own plans and reveal theirs. So for now, information is key, we learn what we can and find out what's at the heart of this." His expression became passive and calculating once more, though as he finished he gave a very slight grin that hinted at what was to come. "And once we find the heart, we go in and tear it out." The Stranger consented as well, calling out to the new recruit in question along with another, the one who'd seemed familiar before. Someone he'd met in R&D? He did get a lot of reports, sometimes keeping track of everyone could be difficult. As they waited for the two to join them he finally recalled something the Stranger had said earlier. "Wait, you what? You fought a temporally dislocated version of me?" His grin became one of eagerness and curiosity. "Well I pity the poor dimension you used to stage that fight."

Their conversation lapsed for a moment, Laurelai spent a few seconds to come back down, eventually settling back into her usual comfortable aloofness. Her back stood straight, her pupils dilated back to a normal size instead of the fearful pinpricks they had been earlier. She could do this. She looked over at Lita only to see the other woman appearing to squint at something farther away, an unusual reaction given the lighting but then again Lita was a tineye, she could probably see fine here. Laurelai envied her that a little, her own abilities let her navigate through social situations with ease and could get her in or out of almost anywhere but being able to see and hear further than anyone else assumed was an incredible advantage for someone who wanted to gather information. Lita's mouth quirked into a small smile, it seemed that she'd managed to see or hear whatever she was looking for. Curious, Laurelai tried to follow her line of sight, seeing who she might be watching, only to pale when she saw who lay at the end of that line. There's no way. She thought, frantically glancing back at Lita just as her expression suddenly froze like a deer in headlights. After a few more moments Lita seemed to snap back out, becoming aware of her more immediate surroundings instead of the distant ones. "After this is all done," she said to Laurelai, "I am going to need an entire Alley's worth of port." Laurelai still held an arched eyebrow towards the woman, unsure whether to be impressed or horrified. "If you just did what I think you did then I'm inclined to agree." Laurelai said, a few notes of disbelief in her voice. "But I'll buy the first round to get us started." She smiled at the new recruit to the DA, she'd come far in such a short time, taking some heavy risks along the way but so far they seemed to have payed off. For now Laurelai simply smiled in appreciation and looked forward to when they could celebrate together again, it had been wonderful port after all.

Sudiov stiffened as he heard Deteca's proposal, his brow knit together with tension as he gazed sternly back at her. "You want to join forces with Voidus and the DA?" Sudiov's cheeks twitched as an array of emotions washed over him in turn. He simply stared at Deteca for a moment before continuing. "I swore loyalty to this guild, that I would never betray your secrets, do you any harm or fail to support you. However I attached a single condition to that oath." He would not support an alliance with Voidus, that had been his one and only condition. It had seemed to be a moot point at the time, TUBA and the DA being as opposed as they were to each other. But now this was being seriously considered, and he couldn't exactly blame them for it either. Should he try to ally with the DA for this? They both had an incentive to put a stop to this after all, possibly the only situation where their goals would ever align. He sighed, the stiffness faded from his posture as he spoke again. "Would you trust them?" He asked. "If we work together then there may be a time where I'm distracted or weakened. A time he could take advantage of. Even without that, he could bring the entirety of the DA with him this time. Last time I ambushed him with a single other member of the DA and I only just managed to get away, what could they do with dozens? With hundreds? Maybe thousands? I can gather his attention here, maybe communicate if he'd listen. But whatever they promised, do you really think we could trust them?" His eyes focussed on her, peering intently and waiting for her answer.

Laurelai drew in a shaky breath, still recovering from the sensation of the winds, that strange feeling of being pulled forwards without her body. If that wind had continued what would have happened? Would their souls have simply left, leaving thousands of bodies to drop lifelessly to the Alley floor? Nervously she looked back at Lita, unable to control her expression any longer the fear was evident on her face. "Win or lose I think we're still on the right side." She replied cautiously. Her gaze drifted over to the three leaders of the DA who had begun talking amongst themselves. "I couldn't even imagine trying to be on a side fighting against them." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voidus relaxed further as he saw both Mac and the Stranger relax their preparations. Both had been prepared to act against him, to try and save the DA if he'd been about to destroy it. He remonstrated himself again for losing control of that, but he also couldn't deny the gratitude he still felt towards the two of them. These two didn't treat him like a god, didn't hold him apart from the rest of the world. Didn't tremble at his gaze or flee at the sight of him. These two were just friends. He glanced over towards the Makck strain, lifeless now. "Sorry about that." He murmured the apology with an apologetic smile before his eyes became serious once more as he listened to Mac giving his report, nodding along at the key points. "That's about it." He agreed in response to the summary of Sudiov. "My own fault ultimately, should have just blasted that damnation barrier apart years before and just recaptured the Guardian." With a deep sigh he explained the situation to the Stranger, a little ashamed of his own failings. "Left some power around unchecked, seems like it gained sentience a lot sooner than I would have expected. The kind of sentience that seems to want to stay alive and keep its power to itself." He concluded. "And now I've been spending the last year shielding the Alleys from it, hasn't left a lot of time for rest and now this. Sudiov doesn't have a physical body, just sentient power. If this other drain on the Void continued it'd be even worse for him, could well destroy him entirely. I doubt he's working with whatever is doing this, though it would be convenient to get rid of all of them together." He clicked his tongue in irritation before switching his attention to the second half of Mac's report. "Plasma Core?" He asked, vaguely recalling the name. It had come up in a few reports of the city, but also something more recent. "We sent some Denizens there didn't we? A party of some kind. One was a new recruit, someone who'd had a rather interesting visitor the night before?" He recalled the information had been attached to the report about the Stranger's possible return, he'd visited the same person who ended up going to the party. Voidus turned his gaze towards the Stranger with an amused smile. "You always had a habit of keeping your eye on interesting people." Voidus cast his mind back to what he'd felt, that bizarre and abhorrent drain on the Void. Where had it been located? He concentrated for a few more moments before finally nodding. "PlasmaCore." He confirmed. "Either that or someone else is using them as a patsy or a front. But either way that's where it is, we destroy them and the problem is solved. We can find whoever may be behind it once the immediate problem is dealt with. Mac, have you been briefed by the ones we sent to the party?"

Sudiov pulled his hat off for a moment, allowing him to run his fingers along his hair. Given that he was only semi-corporeal the gesture didn't carry the tactile sensation that he was hoping for, failing to provide an outlet for his stress. I need another cookie. Sudiov lamented. "I'm- I'm not entirely sure." He said. "I suppose we could just charge the location but without any additional information that seems foolish." Could he try to look there himself? It was a dangerous feeling, he could feel whatever it was tugging still pulling at the Void in that strange manner. If he got too close to that it could start pulling him in instead, using Sudiovs own body in place of whatever current connection it was using. No, looking there himself was too dangerous. "This should concern everyone I would think." Sudiov began to pace as he spoke. "Maybe we could work with the other guilds? Or some of them at least. They likely don't know as much about the nature of it but some of them might have more information that we don't? We should gather more information, maybe send a small group to investigate for the time being. Find allies." This would affect everyone in the Alleyverse, if they could convince others of the danger then they should have allies aplenty. Some of the other guilds might be at odds with TUBA on occasion but for their shared survival they could work together surely? "The entire world could well unite against this." Sudiov said, halting his pacing and looking Deteca in the eye once more. "Once we convince people then I doubt there's anyone out there who wouldn't be on our side. Even Voidus probably wouldn't... wouldn't..." Sudiov trailed off, lips curling up into a grimace that almost looked pained. "Oh dear." He eventually continued. "One other thing to consider I suppose, Voidus isn't going to like this anymore than I do. The DA might be about to move in force, and I'm not entirely sure how much they'll care about evacuating people out before they start destroying the city to find whatever this is."

Sudiov's eyes locked onto Deteca's, his expression horrified. The unnaturalness of whatever this was was enough that he'd never even considered that Voidus might be behind it. Could it be Voidus' attempt to get rid of him once and for all? His eyes darted around as he thought for a few tense seconds before finally shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. It's as bad for him as it for me." Sudiov replied, though not entirely confidently. "It's... wrong. Something's trying to use the Void, the power we both use. But it's all twisted. They're not feeding Investiture into it, they're trying to draw something out." The concept horrified him on many levels, the idea of trying to twist the power like that in itself bordered on lunacy, it was like trying to make water that burned or air you could swim through. It just didn't make sense. But further than that, what were they trying to pull out? Power? Something sentient? A shiver travelled down Sudiovs spine before he managed to control himself. His mustache bristled once again as he let out a small cough of apology and continued. "I couldn't say when exactly it will happen but this can't end well. Best case scenario they pull out whatever they're trying to pull out without accidentally releasing enough energy to level the city worse than the war did, and then we have to contend with whatever they pull out. Whatever it is I can't imagine it's going to be good."

I also think they really needed to swap the order that they dealt with these two around. After dealing with the massive army of undead hellbent on ending all life in the world and defeating the epitome of evil in the world it really makes all the scenes where they plead with Cersei and she acts petty fall really flat. No battle from here on is going to feel as impactful because of what came before it.

Laurelai winced in sympathy, she'd been carried by a Windrunner once before and regardless of how much she screamed that falling was not the same thing as flying he'd insisted on travelling that way for their entire journey. She could only imagine how horrible it would be to be with one who had access to Division as well. And then she followed Lita's gaze, staring at the two men in the front of the crowd, her eyes looked past them a little ways to see Mac nearby as well though he seemed a little out of sorts. The three most powerful people in the DA, probably in the entire Alleyverse, all gathered in the same place. She shivered along with Lita. Even knowing that they were on the same side, standing next to that made her feel uncomfortable. It was like those weapons from that planet the Epics were from, or the ones that the marines used in the seven day war to level the city. Even if you're the one holding them, standing next to something capable of instantly ending your life was not comfortable. She was under no illusions that she could survive if these three decided to kill her, they could likely kill everyone here with about as much resistance as ants could put up against an exterminator. "No, I don't think they do." She agreed. She watched as the Stranger Soulcast a bound figure into smoke, impressed with the speed that he managed it on a sentient being, but when the smoke reformed into the same body she felt her jaw drop. That... that was Soulcasting. Not a forgery, not a preprepared Aonic formula... he just instantly deconstructed and reconstructed a living body. She stared for seconds, missing a few beats of conversation before her senses started working again. "Let the Light of Science shine ever brighter, held aloft by your noble hands!” The Stranger finished This was someone who created history in a way that she would never be able to. Not through Investiture and Forgery, but by force of will and power. Someone who knew more secrets than she could ever learn, no matter how many copperminds she used. Someone who could reform reality itself at a whim. "What kind of history was needed to make someone like that?" She wondered aloud, half in awe, half ravenous curiosity. How does someone learn those kinds of secrets? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voidus watched the Strangers display, smile still upon his face. The man certainly knew how to drive home a point, demonstrating a finesse of Soulcasting that no other could match and simultaneously showing both the ease with which he could kill the body and his indifference towards the act itself. It's certainly going to liven things up, having him back again. Voidus mused. "Thank you indeed." He said, stepping forward and joining the round of applause that steadily began rippling out, continuing unabated for several seconds before finally silence began to take over once more. "But happy though we are to have the Stranger back in our midst, there is another reason this meeting was called." Voidus' face lost all mirth in an instant, his eyes grew cold and dark, seeming to suck in the light even without the use of any further Voidmaking. He slowly looked out over the assembled crowd once more, waiting for the few lingering conversations to trickle off and then continued. "A little over a year ago now I stepped back out into the world. At that time I feared that someone may have grabbed hold of a certain amount of power that I left behind." He saw a number of faces pale, a few glances subtly shifted towards Mac. The story hadn't been publicized but a number were still aware of what had nearly happened, that whatever that power had been, losing it was enough for Voidus to nearly kill a department head and one of the pillars of the DA. "That day we discovered a new enemy, an enemy who has been hindering our activities ever since." Voidus continued. "Sudiov wields the power from the Void in the same way I do, though he turns it against us. I have no doubt that his threat will pass, we will gain back what was lost and return to continue our research without these shackles." A number of denizens began to look around in confusion, most had assumed that the only threat that could justify calling a meeting like this would be Sudiov. What else could cause enough trouble that the DA had to act against it? "Earlier this evening someone else began to use this same power. Without any direct connection at all someone has managed to access the Void." The light dimmed still further, Voidus' expression warping into a mask of fury as the air seemed to hang heavier around him, some of the nearby Denizens began to stiffen, feeling something pulling against them. An unseen wind that seemed to tug at the soul itself. "And worse still, this connection is being used to create things from it. They drive it against its very nature, applying Investiture to constrain and drive and twist." The unseen wind seemed to pick up still further, no clothes were moved, no hair was tousled, it could only be felt. A cold wind that continued to blow, becoming a maelstrom of chaotic force centered around Voidus. Small streamers of light began to emerge from nearby spheres, from spikes that people held free, from fabrials and Awakened objects. Seeing the lights begin to emerge Voidus paused. He took a large settling breath, casting a very brief, ashamed glance towards Mac. Right after I'd lectured him about losing control and using too much. He chided himself. The wind settled, finally dying down completely as Voidus regained control over his expression. Stoically he looked out once again. "Someone is trying to steal something that belongs to us. Someone is trying to rob the Dark Alley on a scale not attempted before. The second reason I have asked you all here today is for a second announcement. The Dark Alley is heading out to war." Voidus stepped back, shrugging apologetically towards the Stranger and Mac as he turned to face the two of them. "Might have gotten a little carried away." He admitted. Behind them the crowd burst into whispered conversation, though a few grand cheers could be heard as well, likely from the folks in acquisitions and testing departments.

Sudiov watched the two new figures enter and anxiously craned his neck, looking to see if more were on their way. That warning had seemed pretty loud, surely more people would come right? Or should he take care of this himself? No that would be terribly rude to his hosts. "Plasma Core?" Sudiov asked, clarifying the question. "A possibility, I'd rather not leave any of myself there to check exactly who is involved if I can help it though." Sudiov's mustache twitched as his mouth narrowed into a line and he stared off into the distance. His eyes glared with anger towards whatever it was he was looking at before he blinked and brought himself back to the present. "And no, I don't believe this is the beginning of any kind of direct attack. But it could be something worse." He could sense the unnaturalness even without trying, but determining the intent of those who were causing it was more difficult. But even with the best intentions in the world, given what they were interfering with this could be catastrophic for them all. "Someone is interfering with something, something that they shouldn't even be able to touch at all let alone pervert it into this." His eyes narrowed as he stared off again, eyes seeming to pierce through one of the surrounding walls before he once more shook his head and regained his focus. "I couldn't say what their goal is but either through accident or intention what they're doing could have dire consequences for us all. I won't deny that I'm particularly invested in stopping them, what they're doing has a very real chance of harming or killing me. But more than that it poses a risk to all beings living in the Alleyverse."

Laurelai finally managed to catch sight of Lita raising her hand, she seemed to have escaped in good order and without any further damage, though she did seem a little nervous about the meeting. Then again Laurelai couldn't exactly blame her for that, she was nervous as well and she'd been in the DA for years not days. A short distance away Okame stood as well, seeming similarly healthy. He was standing in the middle of a large glyph that seemed to be burned in the ground, standing tall and proudly. That one's almost fitting in too well. Laurelai noted with a dry smile. She made her way towards Lita, slipping through gaps in the crowd as it formed until she emerged in a somewhat open area near Lita. There seemed to be a commotion from somewhere else but she by the time she turned to take a look it already seemed to be calming down, probably just another Denizen trying to make a dramatic entrance. "Made it out in one piece then?" Laurelai asked as she settled against the wall once more. "Nicely done, that situation was going sour faster than a Callingfale red." She gave a small smirk towards Lita, unlike the port that the two had been drinking when they'd first met wine made in Callingfale was famously terrible, as one would be expected of something crafted outside of the basin. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voidus' eyes snapped to the same place as the Strangers, but before he could react the Stranger had already Soulcast a block of metal around the intruder and pulled him forward, spiking out his mind from his body. Voidus raised an eyebrow at the unexpectedly gentle treatment of the uninvited guest. "Did that time in research make you lose your edge?" He asked the Stranger playfully, a small smile upon his face once more. Well, no doubt the Stranger had something far worse than death in line for the fellow, Voidus had never been quite as inventive as the Stranger when it came to these things, he preferred a direct approach. "But that does remind me." He said, more to himself than anything. "My apologies to any of our spren present. With that a halo of dark light began to spread from him, lowering the already dim light still further as it continued to expand, eventually encompassing all present. Whenever a spren was bathed in the light they suddenly and silently winked out of existence as he Voidmade their connection to the physical realm for the time being. "My apologies for that." Voidus said, a little louder now as he stood next to the Stranger by the cart. His voice seemed to carry through the Alley, not echoing but seeming to be pulled along by the air itself so that even at this volume he could still be heard. "They'll be back shortly but just to avoid any cognitive or spiritual entities that aren't supposed to be here." He cast his eyes across the assembled group once more, eyes piercing and looking through those present, seeking out anyone else who didn't belong. "Well, that should do for now." He said finally. "So, to business. Firstly I would like to make something of an announcement and celebration, as some of you may have noticed by now our Head of Research and Development as well as Advertising for the Dark Alley has returned to us." With that he turned, sweeping an arm towards the Stranger next to him and giving him a rare genuine smile. "Any words to share?" He asked.

Yeah this feels like when the Merlin TV show was ending. A finale that I refuse to acknowledge exists because otherwise it ruined the whole show for me.