Silus - Shard of Flame

Aw, crap, I mixed up Eero with Emeralis when writing my last post. I thought Ambro was the one talking instead of Eerongal and wrote it based on that. But that's okay, I guess I can work from there.

I mean when you use Lerasium as a Hemalurgic spike. I know I saw it somewhere! EDIT: That's one of the problems with this fandom, there's so much information flying around that we forget where it's all coming from.

City Entrance, Crook of the Plains - Jay'El The tigerplane touches down not too far from the outer wall of the city and returns to its beast form. You dismount from it and check the status of your hack. The connection is deteriorating rapidly so you send it off away from the city before it is broken. That'll hopefully keep it away. You see the gates of the city before you, unguarded but for a massive wooden door in a state of disrepair. It hardly seems to matter since it's ajar, wide enough for several men to walk through shoulder to shoulder. As you approach a man rushes out. His spectacles are askew and his eyes are frantic. He rushes up to you. "Please, you have to help me!" he says, grabbing your shoulder, "I fear that I've done a bad thing, and, please, you look to be only one who can help me!" Destron's Headquarters, Crook of the Plains - Eerongal and Ambrosius "Your words betray your own naivete and hypocrisy. If you truly meant that, you would not have left Lake City when you did. Your vacating of position, and stealing your Spheremount, was running away from the problem, not fixing it. "You would also keep better company," he turns to Ambrosius, "I am aware of your, shall we say, 'negotiation' with the merchant earlier. Is murdering a man for a few pieces of currency a 'needed' thing?" The comment is obviously intended for Eerongal's benefit. He laughs. "You obviously have no sense of how things work in this world for us. I wouldn't expect someone like you, little more than a bandit, to understand the machinations of power between cities. "Spheremorphs are everything. They are ultimately what marks which city is the most powerful. It is a critical balance. If two cities, such as the twin cities, banded together they could topple the rest of the others." His smile drops for the first time since first seeing him, betraying his own tension, exposing his worries. He is barely even looking at you, seeing some horrid vision of his imagination. "This tournament is not what it appears to be. It is exactly the kind of thing that adventurous Spheremorphs look for. It will draw them like vampire wolves to an injured yak deer. It could end in the ruin of everything we know." You know his tendency towards drama, but this seems more honest than that. He truly believes these things. And he might be right. "Which is why I've brought you here. I need to know what is happening, who is behind these occurrences and what their aims are, if the stability of our world is to be maintained."

Well, I'm pretty sure that it would do something else, along with stealing all of the powers of Mistborn. It has an effect that is outside of the three magic systems is what I remember. I know I saw that in a Q&A of some kind!

Ooh, I like that. I always thought that the Misting and Chemist Forms were sort of weak compared to other Basic Forms, which is the reason for the Womb of Mist (and by extension, the Cradle of Chemistry) Grid. Weaponizing those abilities is definitely a good idea, even though pretty much every one of those Ripping effects is utter Nightmare Fuel. I'll put this and the Pirate abilities up in the Data Topic now.

Som1, nice. Those are so funny. Love the HP one. Also...

Alan Wake? I haven't played it buy I read an article about it today. That quote popped up a few times. Umm no. Silus, you know what I am talking about, I'm sure Ambro appreciates being choked by telekinetic smoke. What is Alan Wake? Oh, that! Hehehe. That was so much fun to write.

Oh, I'd say odium contradicts honor pretty well. Just a thought. Also, nice find!

"It's Hapori, son." He directs to you a spot on the tigerplane's forehead. "It's just like interfacing with any other computer, you just have know what kind of signal you're looking for." He pries up the edge of a plate on the creature's face, where you can see a series of numbers. A wireless frequency. "A bit of advice before you go on your way." He sighs. "Spheremorphs...our lives are complicated, we live in almost heightened state, experiencing things in a way that most never even dream of. But that includes our pains, our-" his gaze flashes to his sleeve, "-betrayals. Our scars run deep. Always know why you're doing what you're doing. Keep who you are, don't let the tech get too deep." He puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder, then turns back to the machine. "Now get, if you hurry you can make the Crook by noon." Destron's Headquarter's, Crook of the Plains - Eerongal and Ambrosius Destron laughs, moving back from the desk. "You think this started with me? This city has been a blight since the dawn of the New Age. But for those who rule here, our influence crosses the whole world. The mobs and crime rings go everywhere, and the Spheremorphs control the mob bosses and crime lords." He walks around to where you stand. "The filth is a mask, a film of grit to hide our true power from the bureaucrats in Desert's Edge and the military men of Lake City. A delicate balance to be sure. And that's why I've brought you here." His gaze hardens. "You've probably heard of the so-called 'tournament'?"

Except that Cultivation is a woman.

Alan Wake? I haven't played it buy I read an article about it today. That quote popped up a few times.

Ah, Shakespeare, if you can pick apart the metaphors it's actually pretty good reading and you realize just how dirty minded most of his stuff is. I'd recommend getting a version that does that for you. I did that for Romeo and Juliet and enjoyed it. Does Gardens of the Moon have good worldbuilding? That's always my favorite part and a major reason that Brandon's my favorite author.

I told you right at the start, any Form you make can be used by anyone. That rule applies to NPC Spheremorphs too. ;D

"Well, isn't that the oddest thing? I was considering...simplifying things when I saw you," he says, gesturing at Eerongal, his constant smile is starting to become irritating, "but no. No, I have need of both of you. Our kind must, as they say, stick together, yes?" He chuckles. "And your assumptions are rather bold, aren't they, Eerongal? I had no idea who you were until I saw you today, I only knew of the presence of two Spheremorphs in the city and wanted to...meet you. It is simply a rather splendid case of serendipity that you happened to be my old commanding officer." You remember. In your time in the Lake City military you met a lot of soldiers, but you remember that one overeager boy. He had been the underdog amongst the second round applicants for Spheremorph training, a favorite with the common soldiers for being one of them. You never paid much attention to his theatrics, not letting yourself be distracted. You made it, he did it. It was simple. You never dwelt on it and didn't bother to find out what happened to him after that. Now here he is, his smile becoming more eerie with every moment. "I can see it, you remember me, don't you?" He leans closer from across the desk. His eyes glistening with predatory, malicious glee. This is no theatric, he wants something from you and you can't be sure what it is. Village, Machine Desert - Jay'El The Chieftain lifts up part of his sleeve and you can see his forearm. You can see an elaborate, circular burn there. If you didn't know better it would look like... "I was one, boy. And I paid a hefty price for my antics. Be careful you don't do wind up the same way." He kneels down by the tigerplane. "I can patch this up so that you can use it to get to the Crook within an hour or so. These things are wicked fast and a smooth ride, so long as you can maintain the hack, which shouldn't be too hard with a direct link to your omni tool. It's a lot more stable than a remote hack but it won't last forever." He stands up and looks you over. "What are you doing in that Form? Get back to your Engineer and get your things. I'll have it ready by the time you get back. I suppose it's the least we can do."

Alrighty, and I've posted the next, uh, development in your story. I hope you like it. :

Doc's eyes widen and then glaze over. "I work for Destron, he's one of the Spheremorphs who runs this city. He's got a good chunk of the city working for him in some way or another, but he's got three other Spheremorphs under his command, making his the largest coalition in the city. He didn't tell the squad leader, but he told me that we were to be bait for the freelance Spheremorphs that had just arrived in town. That would be you. What he wants you for is information that I'm not privy to." His eyes clear up and he shakes his head to clear it. He looks down and his eyes widen. Smoke has been billowing up around your feet as you were listening to him. The smoke rapidly climbs you and rushes into your mouths and noses, choking you. You rapidly start to fade into unconsciousness, but before you do you see a figure walk in front of you. It is the man the thugs were beating. He carries a candle in one hand, a stream of smoke connecting it to you. "Bravo, Spheremorphs. Especially you, Eerongal," the man laughs, "but for now, sleep. We will talk later." He kneels down and looks into your faces with a smile. "We have important matters to discuss." The smile is the last thing you see before passing out. Unknown Location, Crook of the Plains - Eerongal You hear a voice, muffled and distance, but getting clearer. "That's it, he seems to be coming around. Now the other one." You open your eyes blearily from the dreamless sleep that comes with being knocked out. It's all a blur, but you can see a white robe trimmed in red, the typical garb of a White Mage. Your head starts to clear more rapidly and you look around. You sit up and are surprised to find that you're not bound. You feel at your chest and find that your Spheremount is gone along with your armor. A glance around the room reveals it to be an office, you are lying on a couch along one wall. There are two, no, five people in the room. One is the White Mage, and one is the man from the alley, the Spheremorph with the black and red hair. There are two men who look like guards on either side of the room, eyes attentive like soldiers, Spheremounts on their right shoulders. The last takes a moment to recognize, but you realize that it's the other man from the alley. He had seemed like a victim, but he wasn't. But there is something else familiar about him. A distant sense of recognition, but it stays elusive for the moment. He now wears a military like uniform, like by virtue of not being for any military you have ever seen. He now wears his Spheremount openly on his right shoulder like the two guards. In fact, their uniforms are practically identical but for the added honors on the familiar man's shoulders. You hear a groan and see that your fellow captive is now awake, being administered to by the White Mage. "Nice to see you are well, Eerongal. It would be a shame if there had been any permanent damage. I could have killed you but I didn't, be sure to keep that in mind." Village, Machine Desert - Jay'El An inspection of the fallen monster shows an out of place component just behind the head. You unattach it and hold it up to the light, seeing if you can discern any use it might have. "That's a rare find, there." The voice is sudden and close. "Take that to the right person, probably in the Crook, and you could craft yourself a decent component for a Morphing Grid." It's the Chieftain, his looming presence combined with his sudden appearance is startling. You are confused by his advice. He flashes a small smile. "There's a reason I don't like Spheremorphs in my town."

And now we have our first meeting of characters!

Slums, Crook of the Plains - Ambrosius As you approach a side alley you are passed by a pair of men carrying another, distinctly larger, man between them, with a man cradling his arm behind them. The last man throws you a dirty look as he passes. You pass them and look down a side alley after seeing a flash of light. You see a man curled up by a pile of boxes, a shivering man with spectacles sitting against one wall, and a man in armor standing in the middle of the alley. The sight is a strange one, and gets stranger when you see the Spheremount on the armored man's chest. Eerongal "I-I-" Doc stutters, and shuts down completely after a glance at the head of the alley. You turn to see a man with strange, black and red hair and many strips of leather bound around him. He looks around at the alley and you can spot the familiar shape of a Spheremount on one arm.

Market, Crook of the Plains - Ambrosius The money carried by the merchant is pathetic, there wasn't even enough here to give you what he offered. An obvious scam. You find a silver and a bronze fiver. The shock stick is still greasy from where the man gripped it. Blood is splattered over everything you pick up, the smell heavy in the air. If the ambient smell wasn't already awful in this side market it would noticeable. You look around, searching for anything of interest. You can hear faint echoes down the alley, the sound of a scuffle of some sort and then barely audible words. "And there will be a next time. Things here are changing for you and yours." Slums, Crook of the Plains - Eerongal There is rage in this man's eyes, his teeth grind in frustration. He sees the stalemate he's in. "I am so stormin' tired of you Spheremorphs. It's bad enough that I gotta put up with my boss and his delusions of running this town, but I've got someone like you trying to mess up what was s'posed to be an easy job outta some stupid hero complex." He looks the gun in his hand over, a hopeless look in his eye, like he might just do something drastic. The pause stretches on before he throws the gun down and limps away. "I'm done." The others give each other a look. The leader shifts the unconscious Bruise off of him with a groan. "I don't know 'bout you, but I'm not getting killed over this. We'll just the boss we killed him and be done with it. Got it?" The others nod. "Now lets get Bruise outta here." The remaining men pick up their enormous colleague and manage to drag him away, except for the one with the broken arm, who makes a rude gesture at you before following. The only people left in the alley are you, the man they'd been threatening who is now curled up behind a lump of rotted wooden boxes, and Doc, who looks too stunned to do anything.

It's that they have no use in direct combat, just that their talents are best used elsewhere.

We have a couple already, Ambro has the Geass form and then there's the Scribbler form.

Neither have I, but my mom. *shudder*

Hero With A Thousand Faces, eh? Heavy stuff, but very interesting. I haven't read the whole thing, it had to go back to the library before I was finished, but what I read was pretty informative. The psychology of it is a little hard to get into, though, lots of weird concepts I basically had to pick up as I went.

He yelps, trying to scramble out of the way. Your tackle is a little off, causing both of you to roll, but it isn't hard to snatch the device from him and shove him off. As you start to get up you hear a click. You turn to see the man you slammed into the wall. He's holding his ribs and there's a dribble of blood from his mouth, but he's also pointing the gun at your face. He looks mad.

You don't know that. Transformers are an item on the mechanical food chain. Go for it, pirates are awesome and I'm loving all the cool forms you guys are bringing to the table.