Silus - Shard of Flame

You wander into the Mist Cavern, where the last of the Blue bracket matches is now ending. A burly man stands over an unconscious guy on the ground, soaking in the cheers of the crowd. You spot a dark haired, pale kid standing next to you by the edge of the crowd. He's smirking, apparently satisfied by the outcome of the match. There's a space bubble around him, like people are uncomfortable standing next to him. He wears his Spheremount on the shoulder away from you, so you don't get a look at his Grid before he walks off into the crowd again. Just as you're finishing the Sphere, you hear a commotion going on behind you. "Out of my way. Step aside!" It sounds like Victoria's voice. Hands grip you by the shoulders and wrench you backwards, jarring your vision of the Breaker. "Give me that." The headset is ripped off your head, and you can see that it is Victoria. She takes the gloves from you and puts them and the headset on, then takes a Formsphere out of her pocket and puts it in the Breaker, removing the chunk of Sphere you were cutting. She starts cutting at the Sphere. "I am so tired of it. The crazy dreams, the headaches, the random statements and awkward moments in conversation. I should have known it was a bad idea from the get-go." You slip on the observer's headset and start to watch her work. "I knew it wasn't the best option, but I thought it would be helpful, not a big deal. I was wrong. Too wrong. And I came so close to losing my sanity, that I can't believe I let it get this far." She's astounding, her cuts are elegant, clean, and most of all, fast. "No more. I don't care that I'll need a new mask, but I can afford it. No price is too high for my peace of mind." And she's already finished. She moved so fast you couldn't even follow what kind of Form it was, let alone what she was cutting out of it. Now she's taking the equipment off, turning to leave.

Do you keep them in stasis or do you have something akin to a living refrigerator?

That just depends on how much grinding and sidequests you're willing to do. I, for instance, do not consider Wakka's Ultimate Weapon worth the hours of Blitzball. *shudder*

That would work too, I just meant a large scale strategy game versus an MMO.

You wouldn't need to really "camp" if you show up day of. The book comes out Tuesday, with the midnight release being Monday night.

The lighter tone of this book was something I really enjoyed. All the snippets of humor really just made it an enjoyable ride. This may be my immaturity showing through, but I thought Wax's deliberately inappropriate jokes at the wedding dinner were awesome.

Actually, I'd see Stormlight more as an RTS game.

The thing about the spikes taking up too much space is that a hemalurgic spike effectively replaces organs that it punctures. Thus why Inquisitors, with their spiked eyes, aren't complete vegetables; the spikes in their heads effectively replace brain tissue. This principle applies with spikes placed in other parts of the body. Thus, if he reversed his age to the point of being a child, the spikes would probably replace even more organs during that time.

I've seen that before! It's SUPER weird, but pretty funny.

I've played through most of Final Fantasy XIII again over the past few days, I still like the story and how the character arcs play out. Though things really slow down once you get to the third disc. But that's where the gameplay really picks up, expanding into a bigger world with lots of places to go at the expense of next to no story content. The dichotomy of great story at the expense of gameplay and great gameplay at the expense of story is disappointing, and I wish they'd done it better. Yes, I like the story of FFXIII, I find it interesting, even though it's not without its flaws. Then again, neither are the other FF games.

That is precisely what it means. Of course, you had to run it by me before, but now there's a bit more structure to it, which, I think is better than the way it was. I underestimated how much influence a Grid could have on a character and their abilities, how there's more of a way to do these things.

Probably couldn't hurt. I could totally see him doing that.

That is epic enough to solve any problem I might have had with this thread. Carry on.

There's been a change in the Application. There's now a system when it comes to Grids you can pick to start off with (including some other Spheretech), which is similar to how it is with Forms. Don't worry, your current characters don't have to change, this is just something for new characters. That means you, Frost. XP

Jack Mckinney The throw knocks him back a few feet, but he stays on his feet, leaving him able to counter the ice blasts with...his lightsaber. It's already back in his hand, even though you just saw him throw it. Whatever just happened, the lightsaber is very effective in blocking the ice blasts, the searing heat making a perfect barrier against the cold. Ambrosius "A bronze fiver for the Seal, the Book of Isis is a firemark in paperback and two in hardback." A firemark, while relatively low on the scale of stormlight currency, is still pricey. Eerongal The nurse giggles a little, whether from your manner or from your shirtless torso is anyone's guess. "Right, no charge. But..." She reaches out and takes the coins. "The Sisters of Preservation always appreciate donations." You recognize the name; a religion run hospital in Desert's Edge, a well known one for their skill in healing. Looking around, you see at least a dozen other nurses, and can spot the distinctive metal touches in their uniforms that mark them as Shardist nuns of the Order of Preservation.

Ambrosius The man takes barely a moment to respond to your list. "I have the Chimeracon and the Book of Isis either in hardcover or paperpack, the Wicker Book in large or small print, and I'm afraid that our copy of Cromael's Diary is on hold for another buyer. As for the Solomon's Seal..." He points behind you, to a rack lined with dozens of them. "We have a variety of sizes." Jay'el The lines appear random at first, but examining them reveals a subtle pattern to them. You almost miss it, but the curve splits the bindings evenly, each line progressing into the next to continue the even cut. Jack Mckinney Tank makes a quick spin with the axe, deflecting the rounds, though the force of it causes him to grimace. At your comment he grins, his katana morphing into the yellow glow of a lightsaber, which he throws at you. The healer smiles at you, still moving over your burns with care and precision. "Before I got here, never. Our benefactor is very generous, he said to spare no expense in keeping the competitors in fighting shape. I'm not sure where he gets it, but I never need to ask for more. There's always enough, which is a little eerie considering just how quickly we've gone through the stuff today." River "Come back after dinner, I have a feeling a good meal will help you work things through." He winks at you. At your next question, he pauses for a moment. "There's a rule in Spherework, one that I've found rings true. The more you try to put into a Form, the more it'll cost. Whether it's in rare materials, a simple need for bulk resources, or complicated workarounds, the rule is the same. Look up there." He points you toward the top of the pyramid display, where you can see a single glass case holding a simple device made up of three rings about the size of Formspheres. "That's the crown jewel of my wares. And trust me, it don't matter how nice a meal you get, it won't you get you any closer to affording my Triple Fuser. It's a simple way of combining three Forms into one, but it's a pain to make. Cost me a fortune, then another one on top of that!" He laughs, holding his side. "Sure, there are better things, rumors of a Quad Fuser fly around like beegnats in my business, but there's no way to make 'em through conventional means. And really, what you'd need to do the same thing on a Grid that that Fuser does easy as pie is still storming expensive and takes up Grid power to drag your shift speed into the gutter."

The title is a lie! There is no ice cream sandwich here!

I have the feeling that if you can store emotions, that each one stores a significantly different one, such that you can't really store the opposite.

Gor for it, Frost. But keep in mind that the more characters we have, the quicker we get to PvP fights in the tournament. Whether that's good or bad depends on your point of view. One reason I'm glad that KChan shows interest in Nexus is precisely because of the gender imbalance. If you think you can pull off a female character, though, than by all means, do so.

Holy crap, this is so meta. I am a good, compliant forum goer. All hail the 17th Shard overlords!

From what I remember of the quote, Elantris is not one of the main ones, but MB, SA and DS are definitely in there.

Oh, good, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought of that.

Yados, I completely agree with you. Also, darn, the Warbreaker cover isn't as good as the others! The US cover of that is one of my favorites, though, probably right after Way of Kings, which is my favorite.

A single emerald broam would be more than River has by a significant amount. (I describe this a bit in my last response to Eero.) EDIT: @Cuairr: I actually wasn't referring to the yellow lines when I said he was speeding over something.

SO PRETTY. WANT POSTER.