JesterLavorre

“Let’s go.” Ara made her way with Avren to where the transparent person was talking to Orpheus and Shadow. As she drew closer, Ara’s eyes widened. He does’t have a Notioncloud. Where blue mist of Notion would normally swirl around the man, there were only Trace wisps of the smoke. In that instant, Ara became fascinated by this newcomer, but sad for him as well. Maybe she could help him.

While I’m tempted to help out my second favorite color, green, purple is just great. And, unlike other colors, every shade of it also looks good!

I’m mostly talking about getting off-world, not actually using powers off world. In that I agree with you. You can’t use selish magics off world. Although, with Seons, it could be different because they are investiture, as opposed to needing an outside source (maybe).

Well, then, I will begin my research.

Wait... are hexachromatics something we just made up or actually from a book series?

My theory on why Seons can travel between worlds is because the power is in the CR. That may mean that Connection (a spiritual concept) restricts movement less for Selish investiture.

Ara looked over from her conversation with Gal to see the newcomers. Forcibly, she pulled herself from we lecture about Signolic sciences. “Um, maybe we should finish this conversation later. It seems like something is going on.” Ara moved over to where Avren was standing... hiding? Behind a tree. “Um, are you okay? You look almost as pale as the new guy, and that’s saying something.”

Kaesiel suppressed a bout of manic laughter. “Now all we need is funding and a base of operations!”

I’m sorry to break the balance, but... can I join? I could be our magic scholar, or something. Like Khriss. Keep an eye on SEFBM’s magical research.

“Notion is a type of energy given off by sentient creatures. It is thought, or at least, attracted by thought. Now one really knows. And there are three types of Notion: Emotion, Inspiration, and Recollection. Anyway, Manifestors like myself can take someone else’s Notion and store it within ourselves, then Manifest it as an outward effect. There’s a variety of Manifestor for each type of Notion. With one exception, each type can store and manifest their one corresponding type of Notion. Unfortunately, Vessels, the Manifestor’s who would be able to use Recollection, are different. We can store all three types of Notion, but can’t Manifest it into an effect or put it into an Insignial. Generally, Vessels serve as Notion batteries for other Manifestors, though any Manifestor could charge an Insignial. You could also use zinc. It stores Notion over long periods of time, but the Notion gets muddled quickly, making it hard to use in more complex Insignials.” Ara takes a deep inhalation after excitedly rambling for so long, then dives back in. ”Anyway, I get around that with Memory. I’m not sure how it works, exactly. This is the first time anyone has documented something like this.” Ara’s voice fills with awe at the thought. “Basically, from what Memory has told me, they can use me as a conduit for their own energy. They seem to be made of something akin to Notion that can power Insignials. They put their own energy into the Insignial through me. The other way is difficult p. I’m not very good at it, but in layman’s terms, there’s a technique in Manifesting called Circuiting, where two Manifestors hold hands so that they can use each other’s Notion. As far as I can tell, me and Memory have a sort of permanent Circuit set up. I can give them any Notion I have stored and they can then Manifest it back through me. But, like I said, it’s hard and requires a lot of concentration.” Should I tell him? I can trust him, right? He seems like a good person. Wherever Memory was, they weren’t there to dissuade Ara. ”I’m... working on a third method. This is something completely new that Memory discovered. It seems like Notion responds to sound, too, like it does an etching. I think I may be able to hum a rhythm to get Notion to charge an Insignial without going through Memory.”

“Silver creates light. And, yeah, electrum has it’s own properties, although those properties are unknown. They should be related to gold and silver, as most other alloys are somehow related to their components. It’s not an ironclad law, though. Purity is simply a direct percentage of how much of the plate is a metallic element. Also, about your question earlier, Memory acts as a sort of conduit between me and my etchings. Technically, I’m a Manifestor. I can store all three types of Notion. Unfortunately, I’m only a Vessel, meaning I can’t actually do anything with the Notion on my own. Memory, however, can move Notion from me or themselves into the Insignials to power them.” Memory moved silently through the Idea realm, looking around for any sign of trouble. Ara should not be telling these strangers so much. It was dangerous for her. Although, apparently she thought of them as “friends”, whatever that meant. Did that mean they could trust them? Memory noticed something. The light of another soul, one not with the rest of the party. Strange. It moved to investigate.

“Yes. Alloys can be used, but the less pure the metal is, the less efficient the Insignial is. And, by pure, I mean “pure metal”. Purity for Insignials is defined differently than for normal metallurgy. Most electrum, for example, is 100% pure, even though it’s an alloy of gold and silver, because it doesn’t have any non-metal components. Steel, on the other hand, is not very pure because of the amount of non-metallic carbon that needs to be added. It still has its own function, but it leaks Notion at a rapid rate.”

“It depends. Different metals have different properties. Some even require you to connect them to another etching to function. For example...” Ara reaches awkwardly into her pack as she walks and pulls out two inscribed metal plates that are lashed to each other by copper wire. “This iron plate creates heat. The metal gives it a basic command of what to do, while the etching in the metal refines specifics. The gold plate strapped to this one refines even more. In a two-plate system like this, it’s pretty redundant. I just use it because it’s easier to make edits to than the iron. However, in a multi-plate mechanism, gold can communicate between the plates. Act as a brain, sort of, to a larger nervous system. I’ve seen Insignial devices that can Manifest a pane of beautifully carved glass, heat it to the perfect temperature, keep it at the correct pressure for high altitudes, and automatically replace it when it’s damaged.”

Okay, I definitely need to watch some of this once I have time!

“Oh! Yeah. Etchings, runes, Insignials. I was just telling Cara about it. It’s not really that I have magic. It’s just technology. Anyone with the correct fuel could use it.”

“Our ground is either too rocky or too muddy for that. Necromancer, are you ready?”

“Ah, so this planet buries it dead. Interesting.”

Granted! The kitty is the most amazing, perfect kitty. Unfortunately, you are now extremely allergic to cats. I wish I could fly. I wish I could touch the sky.

Ara’s face lights up even more. It’s obvious this is one of her passions. She walks next to Cara’s horse, talking to her. “Well, it’s theorized that any pure metal or alloy of a certain threshold of metal percentage has can conduct Notion and produce an effect. Notion is the power source, that is. Manifestors like me - well, not exactly like me - can harvest it from sentient beings and use it to power these etchings. Insignials. Runes in your language. I have some basic ones with me. Heat producers - calordynamics -, gravity producers. Stuff like that. But that’s super simple. When you start combining etchings is when things really get interesting.”

Let’s see if this works... I haven’t posted a video here before, so fingers crossed.

“Colder in the winter, of course. In the summer, it’s just a little chilly sometimes unless you’re really high up. And, yeah, I lived in the mountains. My family was nobility, so that meant we had a keep high in the peaks, carved into the rock. Aerduar is big on rock. There’s a lot of mining there because our technologies require large amounts of metal.”

I just watched the latest vlogbrothers video and now I think I need a full hour of Hank getting excited over using a microscope.

“They hang out high enough in the atmosphere that you can only really find them if you’re up in the mountains, but I lived at a pretty high altitude so I saw them fairly often.”