Channelknight Fadran

@Shallan Stormblessed is next

The Maesar declares that his final act before stepping down from his position (as the Eshael Navar are no longer at war) will be to set a team of mages to turn the recently discovered mana crystal into a weapon with the power to control minds. When they arrive in the Crystal Desert, they locate the Mana Crystal and begin to harvest its energy. Unfortunately, they are attacked by an unknown assailant. The attackers were led by a masked woman named Aranea, who was seeking vengeance for the death of her brother. Aranea is a former member of the Dark Knights, and she uses a variety of magical techniques to defeat the Eshael team. After the battle, Aranea brings the Eshael members to the Dark Knights' base in the desert. There, she explains that she used her magic to steal the mana crystal and destroy the Eshael's facility, so that the Dark Knights would have access to the mana crystal. Sensing that there is something familiar about Aranea, the knights question her. Aranea refuses to answer their questions, but the knights notice that she is wearing the same ring as one of their members. The ring belonged to a man named Max, who disappeared several years ago. Max was the leader of the Dark Knights, and the ring had been passed down through the ranks until Aranea came along. Aranea claims that she found the ring in the ruins of the Eshael's base. The knights attempt to confront Aranea, but she manages to escape. Later, the Dark Knights attack the city of Karkas, killing many citizens in the process. The Eshael discover that the Dark Knights are attempting to locate the Mana Crystal, which they intend to use to create a powerful weapon capable of controlling the minds of others. The Dark Knights attempt to destroy the Mana Crystal, but Aranea once again defeats them and takes the crystal with her. Aranea returns to her hideout, where she discovers that Max has returned to the Dark Knights. Max reveals that he has spent the last few years searching for the Mana Crystal, and that he intends to use it to bring back the ancient civilization that existed in this world thousands of years ago. Aranea is distraught when she learns that Max is planning to resurrect the Anjanath, the race responsible for nearly destroying all life in the land. The Dark Knights capture Aranea and interrogate her about the location of the Mana Crystal. Aranea refuses to give up the information, but she reveals that she knows where the Mana Crystal is located. The Dark Knights head out to the Mana Crystal, where they believe that Aranea will lead them to the Mana Crystal. Aranea summons a group of monsters known as the Disciples, who attack the Dark Knights. While fighting the Dark Knights, Aranea activates a device that causes the Mana Crystal to emit a massive amount of energy. This destroys the Dark Knights' base and traps Aranea inside the structure. The Dark Knights later return to the Mana Crystal, where they find Aranea unconscious. The Dark Knights try to revive her using the mana crystal, but their efforts fail. When they realize that Aranea has died, they decide to use the mana crystal to restore their bodies. They are unable to complete the process, however, and they end up turning into monsters themselves. Aranea awakens to find that she is alone, and her body has been transformed into a monster. Aranea begins her search for the Mana Crystal, hoping to find a way to destroy it before Max can use it to resurrect the Anjanath. She tracks the Mana Crystal to a temple in the north, where she discovers the remains of the Dark Knights. The Dark Knights are still alive, but they appear to be on the brink of death. Aranea is horrified to learn that the Dark Knights plan to use the Mana Crystal to resurrect the Anjanath. Aranea vows to stop them, and she journeys to the Mana Crystal. Aranea meets with Max, who reveals that he has already resurrected the Anjanath. Aranea tries to kill Max, but he manages to escape. Using the mana crystal, Max revives himself, and he uses the powers of the Mana Crystal to transform into a giant creature known as a Titan. Aranea absorbs the Mana Crystal's powers and becomes a giant monster herself. The two monsters fight, but Aranea is defeated. Max uses the power of the Mana Crystal to transform himself into an even larger Titan. He then attacks the Mana Crystal, which emits a blast of mana. This blasts Max and the Mana Crystal into space, where they ultimately die. Aranea's spirit is freed from the Mana Crystal. Aranea returns to the Mana Crystal and uses its powers to destroy it. The Mana Crystal crashes to the ground, and the explosion sends shock waves throughout the city of Karkas. Aranea appears in the sky above the capital, declaring that she will avenge her brother. "Demon's Souls" received critical acclaim upon release. GameSpot praised the game's focus on exploration and combat, calling the latter "an intense, satisfying blend of tactics and skill that's easily as good as any other action game out there." IGN's review gave "Demon's Souls" a perfect 10 score, saying that the game was a masterpiece that surpassed all expectations. Eurogamer gave the game a 9/10, noting the difficulty and replay value, while praising its atmosphere and visual design.

Once again, the Dalryan Council of Six reaches out to the Gropan Dynasty in hopes of forming an alliance. King Roderick agrees, only in exchange for a promise that the Gropans will never interfere in the affairs of the Dalryns. The Dalryns agree, and the two countries forge a new alliance. One day, a messenger arrives at the castle of King Roderick to inform him that his daughter, Princess Lissa, has fallen ill. Roderick immediately rushes off to the Gropan capital of Biltis, where he meets with the king and queen of Gropa. They tell him that the illness is not serious and that the princess will make a full recovery. Roderick returns to Dalryn to find that his daughter has recovered. Lissa then informs her father that she wants to marry Prince Jett of the Gropan Empire. The Dalryns are outraged by this news, and Roderick refuses to allow it. However, Lissa insists that she must marry Jett, or else she will become a target for assassination by the Dalryn lords. The Dalryns try to use bribery to convince Lissa to change her mind, but she refuses. Finally, they decide to take drastic measures and kidnap Princess Lissa. They place her in a large cage and send it flying through the air, towards the Gropan Empire. Jett is horrified to learn of the kidnapping of his betrothed and vows revenge. The Dalryns set off a series of explosions along the path leading to Biltis, and the city becomes engulfed in flames. Thousands of Gropans die in the conflagration, and the king orders that Jett be hanged for his crime. Before Jett can be executed, however, the Dalryns open the cage and release Princess Lissa from captivity. When Jett learns that the Dalryns tried to kill his fiancée, he decides that he needs to get revenge on them as well. Meanwhile, Lissa and Roderick have bonded over their shared hatred of the Dalryns. The two now plan to kill King Roderick and the council of six. In order to accomplish this task, Lissa requests the help of the Demigod, Luca. Lissa and Luca sneak into the Dalryns' headquarters, and Lissa kills every member of the council. She then proceeds to shoot Luca in the chest. Luca is deeply saddened by this, but says that he knows there is a reason why the goddess chose to save him. He also tells Lissa that he has been sent to help her defeat Vandora. Lissa is skeptical, but Luca assures her that Vandora cannot harm her because she is protected by the gods. Vandora reveals herself to the group and attempts to kill the demigods, but they manage to escape before she can finish them off. After the battle, Lissa and Luca prepare to depart the kingdom together. As Luca is leaving, he tells Lissa that the Goddess of Fate has other plans for her. I dunno what you were expecting

Anticipating war with the Empire of Astrolog again, Astrym begins using resources discovered on their new continent to create more powerful projectile weapons enhanced by their magic. These new weapons are able to pierce through the Empire's shields, and destroy their ships. The Empire responds by sending down their own expeditionary force to the north, led by a general who goes by the name of 'Mighty Sword'. While Mighty Sword is successful at conquering most of the countries on the northern continent, the Sielish manage to hold on to their territories. The Empire is now forced to turn its eyes back towards the west, and it launches another invasion of Ellonas. The Sielish, realizing this, prepare to defend their country. However, they are caught unawares, and the Empire's navy easily captures the city of Ellonas. The Sielish eventually evacuate their homeland to the south, and they settle in the town of Iyom. Meanwhile, the Empire continues to push deeper into the western continent, and it manages to conquer the rest of it. The Empire then attempts to invade the eastern continent, but they are repelled by the Sielish. The war between the Empire and the Sielish ends up lasting two years, before both sides declare a ceasefire. Both parties agree to a truce, and they agree to share the wealth and manpower found on the newly conquered continents. The Sielish also give the Empire access to their teleport gates, so they can travel between the continents. The Empire gives the Sielish access to their new continent, where they can establish a second colony. The Sielish also receive the rights to use the magic stones that were uncovered during the war, and they use some of them to create new spells. However, the majority of the magic stones go missing from their possession. It is unknown whether the Sielish lost these stones or if the Empire stole them. Looks like we found yet another continent. Enraged by his father's death, Tarell, new emperor of Nam-Ed, turns to his country's greatest weapon: The undefeated Demigods, gift from the gods, destroyers of Vandora, bane of the Quonshi. Tarell's orders to the Demigods are simple: "Make Gahestia pay for what they did to my father, my country. Burn it to the ground. Leave no man, woman or child alive anywhere within the borders of Gahestia." So, the mighty Demigods march upon the Kingdom of Gahestia. Their first battle is in the lands of Amathel, a small village along the border of the kingdom. There they meet the brave warrior, Tharja Lucis Caelum, who, along with the villagers, stand against the onslaught of the Demigods. The soldiers of Gahestia begin to fall one after another to the might of the Demigods, until finally the remaining men of the village flee into the forest. Tarell sends a detachment of Demigod infantry to pursue the fleeing villagers. They set up camp and wait for dawn. When the sun rises, they see the Demigods standing over the bodies of the slain villagers. Tharja, who was hiding in the forest, witnesses the entire scene, and she realizes that the Demigods cannot be stopped by just swords and spears. She decides to lead a charge against them with her bow. Her attack fails and the Demigods retreat, and they take Tarell's army with them. Afterwards, Tharja tracks the retreating Demigods to their base of operations: A massive fortress, which stands above all others. She sneaks inside, kills the guards, and finds the general of the Demigods, named Luca. Luca is surprised at seeing Tharja alive, and he asks why she attacked the Demigods. "I had to do something," says Tharja, "something to fight back against what you have done to our people!" Luca calms her down and tells her that she has nothing to worry about. He explains that the Demigods were sent by the gods to protect the world from the evils of Vandora. "Vandora will come again. And when it does, we shall be here to stop it." Tharja doesn't believe him and says that he should be more concerned with protecting the innocent peasants, not killing them. Luca replies by saying that Tharja herself is proof of how effective their methods are. He shows her his arm, which has been badly scarred from the battle at Amathel. "You saw what happened to those poor villagers," Luca says, "they died fighting for their homes and families. Had I not ordered my men to burn their villages, thousands would still be alive today. Now, at least, they have a chance to survive." Tharja, angered by Luca's words, unleashes an arrow at him, but Luca blocks it effortlessly. "Foolish girl. You have no idea what you're dealing with." Suddenly, there is a knock on the door, and Luca opens it. "We have found Tharja! It seems that she survived the battle at Amathel!" Luca is shocked by this news, and he throws Tharja out of the room. The Demigods' base is located in a large mountain range known as The Mountains of the Fallen God. This name comes from the legends of the time, where a great demon once ruled the land. In a last ditch effort to save the human race, the gods created the Demigods, who slew the evil demon and drove him off. Then, the gods built the fortress to thank the Demigods for slaying the demon, and to serve as their home, where they could rest after each battle. The Demigods do not have any interest in politics. Good to know. @Matrim's Dice

@The Bookwyrm

"So basically, you guys need to learn how to do that."

Round 8 Recap: New Astrym expands their territory within the new continent. Nam-Ed conquers the Eakirandi Empire with the "help" of the Gahestians Dalrya creates a treaty with Nam-Ed The Gahestian Empire captures and executes Nam-Ed's king. Eshael Navar finds a magic crystal and also decimates a town apparently Lynara establishes a treaty with Psmithania The Wrizrecan Empire creates a super duper mega cannon and uses it to establish control over the northern ocean Serenitas conquers Adoral-Can and creates a treaty with the Demon King *Deep breath*... the Gahestian Empire conquers the Eakirandi Empire, Adoral-Can, Quonshi, Sociania, and Nam-Ed, then makes an alliance with the Demon King as well Not-Luxembourg shows their worth by absolutely decimating the Gahestian armies, while the Demon King expands his influence by allying with the new regent king of Nam-Ed The Commune of Vandora is wiped out Realmingsburg joins in the fun and destroys the Gahestian Empire's airship fleet The Demon King conquers Psmithania Siel deepens its alliance with the Kheneca Map: The Sitch: 0026: New Astrym expands into their new territory Eshael Navar expands into their new territory Dalrya creates a treaty with Nam-Ed Lynara creates a treaty with Psmithania 0027: The Wrizrecan Empire begins building a superweapon Serenitas conquers Adoral-Can in the wake of their recent victory Siel establishes a full relationship with Kheneca Nam-Ed invades the Eakirandi Empire 0028: Rumors of a man called the Demon King begin to spread The Gahestian Empire invades Adoral-Can through the newly-captured Eakirandi territory 0029: The Gahestian Empire pushes into both Quonshi and Sociania The King of Nam-Ed flees from the Gahestian invasion, but is captured and executed The Commune of Vandora is finally eliminated 0030: Not-Luxembourg releases its monster armies onto the Gahestian forces, just about completely routing them Realmingsburg attacks the Gahestian airship fleet and destroys it The Demon King allies with Serenitas, the Gahestian Empire, and Nam-Ed. 0031: The Demon King invades and conquers Psmithania The Wrizrecan Empire finishes building their superweapon and uses it to conquer the northern oceans

I fell behind a little because I have a job to work now. Watched up through Ep. 8 just tonight and by the gods - this series is a masterclass in everything

Using their sweet new skyships, the Sielish people send down a more permanent delegation to the Kheneca Empire to attempt to secure a trade treaty. Once there, the delegates find that the Empire's emperor is dead, and the new Emperor is a fourteen-year-old girl named Alis. The Sielish delegation initially refuses to recognize her as ruler, but they relent when they learn she is the only living heir to the throne. Alis agrees to sign a peace treaty with the Sielish Empire, and they recognize the new Empire. However, she makes it clear to the Sielish that the peace treaty does not apply to the island nation of Ellonas. The Sielish also agree to pay a heavy tribute to the Kheneaca Empire. The Sielish merchants are pleased with the outcome of the negotiations, and they happily leave Ellonas to return home. Looks like it worked. I'll get the recap up shortly!

“Certainly. In fact, it’s like that all the time. Most untrained wizards give off barely any magical energy at all, and it’s the same for people who don’t upkeep their abilities. I guess that’s a nice tradeoff of sorts: it makes you less of a threat and less of a target.”

@Tani

"You do leak magic, but it's not detectable in the same sense as most peoples'. When you approached I just thought you weren't magical."

“Mostly, yes, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.” Vance held up a few more fingers. “First of all, you can also tell how powerful someone is in that form of magic to an extent. Basically, the hotter the oven, the more heat it gives off. But people who train more also learn how to contain their magic better, so bumping into someone who doesn’t give off much magical energy could both be inexperienced or really good at their magic.”

@The Halcyon Girl ((This is where we're at probably)) "Basically... it's a good idea to think of it like an oven." Vance waved his hands around again, completely unaware of just how unhelpful his gesturing was. "You have a big rocky crevice where you cook your stuff: the idea is to keep all the heat inside so you can use it how you want. And for the most part it works, but if you stick your hand by it you'll feel the heat. That's because the oven can't contain the heat with complete efficiency: a bit will always leak out. "It's the same for magic. We're not completely airtight creatures, so our magical energy leaks out a bit while we're storing it. Thing is, instead of just being like heat - fire, the sun, etcetera feeling all the same - you've got lots of different types of energy." He stuck up one finger. "Basically, you can tell what kind of wizard a person is by sensing the type of magical energy they give off."

After receiving word that the Demon King has turned his eye towards Psmithania, the oligarchs decide to harness the power of their telekinetic academy and start focusing on supernatural weaponry to build their defenses. Through experimentation, they create a weapon known as the 'Shardstone', which allows the user to manipulate matter with their mind. They also create a new type of mana-manipulating device, known as the 'Dimensional Resonator'. However, the Dimensional Resonators have a tendency to malfunction, and they often explode once activated. The oligarchs have no choice but to mass produce these devices and send them out to their nation's garrisons. Meanwhile, the Demon King begins his invasion of Psmithania. He is joined by a mercenary army, and he launches the assault on the Psmithanian capital. The Psmithanian military manages to hold off the invaders for a while, but they eventually succumb to exhaustion and are forced to surrender. The Psmithanian Emperor then surrenders himself to the Demon King, and he offers to become his vassal. The Demon King accepts the offer, and the Emperor is crowned King of Psmithania. The Demon King then puts Psmithania under his control, and he uses it as a base of operations for future invasions. He decides to move his headquarters to the north, so he can keep an eye on Psmithania. RIP.

“It all has to do with the greatest thing ever: incomplete efficiency.”

“Nope! Not impossible. Not if you know what you’re doing.”

“Gods. Fate. Mutations. Who knows? I sure don’t.” He shrugged. “My sister’s been working on trying to figure that out. But anyways, that isn’t the lesson. That’s like… side material. It’ll still be on the test though. “Lesson number five is a lot more important if you’re trying to survive as a wizard in a world full of evil witches and spooky mansions,” Vance explained. “It’s something that comes with the territory. I can’t really explain it super well, but… well, basically…” He picked his next words carefully. “There’s a way to tell what kind of magic a person has… before they cast a single spell.”

“Nope!” Vance stood up to gesture about as he explained. ”So you’ve got energy, right? That’s all well and good. You eat food, you digest it, and boom: you don’t die. Honestly, whoever thought that up needs to get an award. ”It’s the same for magic, ‘cept instead of eating food, you just kinda… draw in energy.” Vance waggled his hands around vaguely. “For a lot of people they draw that energy in from themselves anyways. In most cases, people born with magic do that. The ability to convert regular energy to magical energy comes with your blood, as does whatever powers you can use with said magical energy. For example you have my Essence powers, which drains me physically when I use them. ”Other magic comes from other places. The stellari, most notably, draw their power from the sun, moon, and stars. Their bodies use up energy to harness it, but the process is a lot less direct—which comes at the cost of a lot less efficiency.” Vance pointed at Annimus. “Your power is unique in the sense that rather than causing things, it makes other things… un-effect, in a sense. It still comes with your blood and takes up energy, but interferes rather than affects. This is because, like most everything, magical energy is a one-way kinda gig. In order to stop it, you have to just push back.”

It’s all good; and at this point it’s probably best to put that behind us. Anyways: for those of you who are interested in this new meta system, stay tuned on the Bunny Crew storyline.

“Not a scholar, but I know my stuff.” Vance put the rug back down, content. “Anyways, your powers have to do with the fundamentals of all of magic ever: that is, magical energy.”