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DragonHeir

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  1. The man scowled. He’d only found it last week, but he’d already felt it was almost part of him. “Begone, foul misty stone long reptile thing - er, serpent!” The man spun, chopping wildly at the frightening Guardian. Rebus nodded back, approvingly. - “Indeed. I’d also prefer it if you stopped trying to kill me.” - Rebus gave a genuine smile, taking the sting of the gel with no reaction. - The first couple hit him, the explosions cracking the mended carapace. Then he snatched one from the air, and threw it back at the robots. What happened to the lumberjack? Rebus blinked. That had been quick. 1. Yes - they can innately read the posts in the Thread, though there are exceptions. 2. No - they have to know what something would do, but their magic is again on a metafictional level, altering descriptions of things. 3. Though he was once shorter than himself, he’s now perhaps the third-tallest in a room - regardless of who’s in that room. Once again, for weird metafictional reasons, however you picture him is sorta canon.
  2. The Prismite abruptly converted, a few leftover fragments blasted into the air with a bang. The man finally noticed, and drew Dramatic Irony - though it was long after what would be expected from the noise. His grip was poor, the blade pointed downward, but his stance and footwork were very very good. The meaning of this was unlikely to be ascertained, for obvious reasons. The nanomachines, though diminishing, began to consume the ground to restock their number. Rebus had slipped the object - whatever it was - into his sleeve.“You’re not the only thousand-page callback to be found.” He smiled. “Now please, either make an attempt at bargaining, show yourself, or leave us to our training montage. I would rather not have to call you a decrepit excuse for a Narrator, nor blackmail Ribbon.” “Indeed. Ask around for a Narrator, and one should come into existence - if your Author creates them, they’ll lack the plot armor that protects even, say, Utility.” “Tone,” Rebus explained. “Emotional context matters, almost more than actual power does.” - “I’m making something that could be used to face the Witherlord head-on, but I need quite a lot of Prismite to do it. In fact, given your feelings on Narrators, this could benefit us both - I would have to strip your brother of his powers.” - “Actually, being a ‘magic guy’ gives me a few substances I’d react poorly to. You wouldn’t be using them, of course.” - Amoebus burst to life, Mordite carapace springing from his skin to block the blades - for even an entity such as him could be harmed by Mordite. He drew himself up, broken body merging together into a mass of Mordite and nanotech, and literally growled. “You’re right. You shouldn’t trust me in the slightest,” Rebus whispered, essentially inaudible. I’ll note Fog is either lying or misinformed - presumably on purpose. Rebus is trying to get to an alternate universe, but that’s inside the Thread, and is not to be reached by ship. Rebus looked around, a little surprised by the stillness, then continued to walk. He’d brought utility fog, of course - he’d seen bloodsucking flies assail the Traveler, and wanted no part in that - but refrained from bringing a vehicle; this journey deserved respect. Jack, still holding the coin, wandered blearily after him. - Rebus smiled. “I can provide some instruction, should you wish to trust me.”
  3. Rebus nodded. "In that case, let us continue." The arm moved the crystal to the other point, and... Nothing happened. Again. Rebus frowned. "This might be the other one kind of nothing - I'd duck." "There are a number of them, but the easiest way to do this would be to find a new one - they'll lack plot armor compared to an established character." "You could hold your dragon," Rebus suggested. "I suspect it shall be needed." - "Actually, we need a Narrator - though your tricks here could be of use as well. If your scheme to kill me has any promise, we can use it on withergeists." - Rebus followed, occasionally glancing down at his arm to make sure it had stopped. - The carapace cracked all the way, and with a cry of pain, Wither-amoeba-Rebus fell out of the ceiling, blown almost in half. He lay on the ground, unmoving. The man whirled around, but saw nothing. Surely it had just been a small animal of some sort. Rebus frowned, his utility fog pushing back against the mist. "Having fun, are we?" Rebus asked, voice a bit mocking as he surreptitiously palmed an small object off his belt.
  4. "The converter is trying to turn the Prismite into Prismite. Since Prismite is already Prismite, this does nothing." Rebus slowly nodded his head. "If the way this is set up makes sense, the point directly opposite should do what we want."
  5. Nothing continued to happen. Wait, no. Things continued to happen. All the things that had been happening before continued, include nothing happening. Rebus's eyes widened. "Oh. The converter is turning Prismite into Prismite." The man continued not to notice, but his sword began to glow. Unbeknownst to the Lumberjack, the tree monster had started to follow him. - "Your son?" Jack asked, sounding a little spacey. "Whatever could have happened?" "Thank you very much," said the Author, seemingly to nobody. "Oh, and if I recall, Rebus converted your name to micrometers to get rid of the fraction." - Jack looked at his hand, and was mildly surprised. "I have one of those." - "That could work," continued Heir. "I'm probably not the best to talk to for this, of course - not even considering that I'm about to go to sleep."
  6. The freaky tree monster decided to cut its losses and find somebody else to replace the bones of. The man kept walking and whistling, unaware of the chaos his sword was causing. Plot magic, absolutely. Jack runs on Plot magic. Jack blinked. That was weird. Could he do that, since he was made from metal? He was made from metal?! If Jack could breathe, he would have begun to hyperventilate. It wasn't Rebus, in fact. He would be wearing a coat, and being a little less silly. Smiling, Heir offered 9/1000mHB#2 some popcorn. Rebus glanced at him, similarly perplexed. Either he'd soon feel rather silly, or something was about to violently explode. The tree monster had begun to slink away, but now saw a new opportunity for prey. It grinned, splintery teeth bereft of any surrounding flesh. - Jack looked back, eyes staring off into the space beyond him.
  7. A man walked through a forest, Dramatic Irony sheathed at his side. He whistled as he walked, completely unaware of the horrible tree monster following him in the canopy. Jack's memory is physically encoded in clockwork. He does register as a person to magic, unlike his brethren, so it could go either way. Jack was distressed - far too many people were collapsing to the floor today. Premonition is indeed a very good word. Rebus held up a finger, and a mote of light blossomed into existence, crystallizing into a tiny piece of Prismite. A robot arm with tweezers plucked it from his fingertip; Rebus stepped back, and a transparent wall of nanomachines locked together between them and the experiment. The robot arm touched the Prismite to the medallion and... Nothing happened. There was no change - the crystal simply lay on the medallion point, sparkling with light. Slowing down time so events worked correctly, Rebus summoned his Narrationblade. His grip wasn't loose by any means, but it was wasn't nearly as tight as Atlas's. "Plotblades are magic - you don't need to worry about dropping them, and they'll cut through almost anything. Yours especially only needs to make contact, so the way you hold it should prioritize speed over force. Like this." He flicked his wrist, and the sword cut swiftly through the air. - Rebus smiled, beginning his explaining. "I assume you're familiar with the Essences: Chaotic Light, Ordered Light, Ordered Dark, and Chaotic Dark. While Narrators and Ennullers - the beings affiliated with Chaotic Light and Ordered Dark - are quite powerful, most Withergeists are frankly pathetic. Part of that is due to their numbers, but the true reason for their lack of power is that it's all concentrated in a single entity." Rebus projected a hologram of what he had seen - what had once been Malevolence, surrounded by a thousand blades of darkness. "The Witherlord." - Rebus nodded. "Thank you." - Wither-amoeba-Rebus's eyes widened. Mordite carapace erupted from his skin as the grenades went off - the force of the explosions cracked it, sending bits of metal, nanotech, and flesh to the floor. "Ow." he said, sounding perfectly human as his face knit back together. Jack shivered. He didn't know what that meant, but it sounded very ominous. "Maybe?" he said, sounding a little distant. - Rebus nodded. "I shall." Then he disappeared, and in the distance took his second step through Onyx's Realm. - Off in the distance, a young man watched the fight with binoculars, occasionally munching from a bucket of popcorn. "By the way, I found Fog. Still don't know who she is, though."
  8. Rebus nodded, smiling. “Thank you.” Sequence could see a figure in a white longcoat appear just outside the border - it was Rebus, of course, saving himself some walking in light of the much longer trek within Onyx’s Realm. As he passed through into Onyx’s Realm, the copy of him by Subversion turned back to her. “Is there anything you desire in return?” Would you or Xino be responsible for the obstacles along the way? - Continued at the bottom of the post. Rebus thought for a moment. “It depends upon whether they’re willing to help. Other than myself, Fog, Atlas, Cep, and Hiro, if you can simply start a conversation with a Narrator it will bring us closer to what is needed.” Rebus didn’t need to breathe - and neither did Atlas, though the latter hadn’t realized it. Taking advantage of Fog’s relative absence, Rebus tried to teleport himself and Atlas away from the arena. Rebus nodded. “Very well, then.” He teleported to one of his labs, expecting Asharak to follow. It was already set up for the experiment, instruments and tools mounted on moving arms. Rebus placed the medallion on a pedestal in the midst of the devices, clamping it down securely. The imprisoned copy of Rebus looked up, seeming mildly surprised. The newly arriving one simply winked, taking advantage of his familiarity with himself. Rebus watched Cyrus and Dax, smiling a bit condescendingly at the former. - It should have hurt, though Rebus didn’t feel any pain. “I touched a magical weapon - it had stayed finite until now, but of course magic is often unpredictable.” Luckily, the spread was starting to slow, though by this point it spiraled almost to the elbow. - Honestly no idea. Most of Dax’s tricks are hard-countered by wither magic, and Rebus knows full well that he metafictionally outclasses random robots, no matter how advanced. That being said, endlessly distracting him as he tries to escape is a lot more achievable than killing him, and nearly as useful. While he’ll be able to do it eventually, at the moment he cannot teleport or bilocate. Wither-Rebus tore a hole in the ceiling - or reality, if that was easier - and slithered through it, trying to reach the area the various traps had been stored in. - Rebus said nothing more, simply following Kyler to Cyrus. - “Very well,” Rebus smiled, and his words seemed to resonate. “Normally, I’d start with form - but this is a battle, and you’re a Narrator. When Fog appears again, try to distract her with some more sword swings - and be careful of teleportation and magic.” Pretty much everything Rebus makes looks like it came out of Portal or Tron - and since mysteriously glowing writing implements are suspicious, it just gets the greyscale. - @TwinStorm, just so you know I’m paying attention. Jack was rather stunned, unsure what to say - this talk of dark spirits seemed ominous, as did the mysterious coin on the ground. He picked it up, intending to return it to the man.
  9. "There are several ways to potentially defeat him. Would you be willing to help me gather Narrators?" Rebus smiled in a manner that was perfectly normal. I'm going to bed, y'all.
  10. Rebus has Moment and isn't quite sure what to do with it. Oh, and once I think of a new character, I'm giving them Dramatic Irony.
  11. "Then let the deal be made. Symbol, safely removed to Onyx's protection, in exchange for a task of my choosing, which shall not demand your life or hers. Have we an agreement?" The wind seemed eager that its insidious plotting had come to fruition, but perhaps Rebus was projecting. He took a shaky breath. Symbol's torment had passed, but it could return. "She is safe, for now, but I said I would do this. I agree." Rebus gently held Symbol's hand, tears in his eyes - though they could be from the cold wind. "Rest. It's alright - Fate will get you to safety." - "Good. Would you like to be around for when I do test the converter? It could potentially produce Mordite for the Witherlord to kill us with, or an explosion similar to the one that let Malevolence claim the Lost Pages - so I am going to do it far from anything else." "Though I would appreciate it, I am here because I need to get to Onyx's Realm." Rebus smiled. "That requires a guide - someone who has been before." If I recall, the Traveler used a map made by someone who had. - "You fell," Jack said. "I don't know why - it was as soon as you walked into the city. This man knows a healer, and could use our help in exchange."
  12. "Much like I am, with Heir combing the Thread for flashbacks. I do wish to speak with him, once all that has been resolved." Kion, who happened to be there, jumped. "Renders!" he cursed, "a Render!" - A man lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Two other people stood next to him, talking urgently - one of them wore a suit and top hat, and seemed to be made from metal. @NameIess @TwinStorm
  13. Rebus paused. "Not quite yet; I have a few other things to do... Where exactly is Cep?" Their plot is "wander around aimlessly until we find someone wise" - you'd be adding on to it, not interrupting. Still, if you think it should be someone else, I have another character for you...
  14. "I would say that this has little to do with the mechanics of the Essences." Rebus shrugged. "I think I just need to touch the corresponding part of the amulet to it." Lyric is guiding Jack, who wants to find someone who knows the meaning of life. They're currently looking for a priest of Plot, so Iromem might very well qualify.
  15. The person offering the quest is at the Temple of Plot; Jack and Lyric just showed up there. "The safest test would be to turn a bit of Prismite into Nullite."
  16. Jack nodded, clearly on edge. "Are they around?" @edgyswordname, would your character notice Jack and co wandering around? Though I suppose a four-person plot might stall out instantly. "Are you willing to pay the price?" whispered the wind. Rebus was. "Not her, and not me. Anything else, I will do it." With those words, Rebus saved his closest friend and doomed the world. - "That is what I intend to learn." Rebus said. "It took one of the last significant pieces of Luxite to craft, as well as Prismite, Mordite, and Nullite - they're bonded together, but I think each point is affiliated with one." Rebus shrugged. "It was before my time - they somehow froze him in place, I believe? That was before the banishing. No matter how it was done, it required powerful Ordered Light entities nowhere to be found in our current era."
  17. Can't find the post - once I do this shall continue. - Rebus smiled, holding up a medallion in the shape of a four-pointed star. "This is Nameless's Essence Converter. It can make us Luxite." Jack pointed to Lyric, who had just fallen unconscious and dropped to the floor. "I know - I'll help you if you help him." "They sacrificed themselves to banish the Witherlord." Rebus laughed. "'I'm going to test a thing where I kill you' is not something I'd recommend saying to the subject. Regardless, it is nearly impossible for you to do that. You'd need to be a master metaphysicist specializing in Prismite." - Rebus cocked his head at his arm. "A sign, I think. Symbolism matters more, when it comes to me." He shrugged. "Anyway, we should get out of here and start trying to get you home." - Wither-Rebus jumped into the air, growing extra limbs with Mordite claws to latch onto the ceiling, out of reach for at least a moment. - Rebus handed Kyler a pen, styled in his trademark black and white. "Click this three times if you need me." He said quietly. Then he continued walking. - That was good - unshielded antimatter explosions were a bit of a problem.
  18. The vision scrambled, and Rebus found himself thrust into a different memory. A painful one, but the pain was merely the prequel to the terrible events it had indirectly caused. Symbol was suffering - she cried out in pain, and so Rebus cried out for help. Something answered - a voice in the wind. Fate. - Yup - they've got instruction to make him. Rebus grinned even wider. "I've recently received a very interesting device..." Rebus raised an eyebrow, but couldn't exactly move to avoid it. - Rebus said the coordinates to his universe collider. If Rebyl looked closely, she could see what seemed be a burn scar creeping up his right forearm. - Wither-Rebus ducked, sprouting an arm to tap the side of the robot's blade. The Mordite sluggishly began to reshape itself, its edge dulling. - "I do." Rebus nodded. Then he grinned at Kyler. "I'm a Narrator - being in only one place would be a bit of a waste." "They were of Ordered Light - collections of power that survived the Dies Luxfrang." Rebus nodded. "I shall do what I can." Then he split in two, assembling a new copy of him from transient dream matter. The real him went back the way the had come, and returned to reality. He immediately - well, almost immediately - tried to teleport himself to Subversion. - Jack rushed to him, trying to catch the man before he fell - though admittedly, Jack wasn't much softer than the ground was. Lyric was rather unconscious. Jack - a man in a suit who seemed to be made out of metal - rushed over. "I can help you look - what do you do about unconscious people?" Most of Rebus's nanomachines short-circuited. It wasn't too much of a problems - that honor belonged to the robot. "Uh oh." Rebus said. And then the whole world turned to light.
  19. Rebus smiled. “I could help you with that…” - Rebus was now certain he was wrong, though perhaps with Prismite as fuel that trick could be possible. Still, guessing further seemed like a path to either embarrassment or dangerous capabilities. - - - Mordite spikes sprung from his face as he took the blow. The shock hurt, of course, but other than some fried nanomachines the clone had no lasting damage. The spikes, on the other hand, were well suited to causing lasting damage. - Rebus laughed. “I suspected as much…” Rebus bowed his head, accepting the items - it wasn’t easy to reverently accept something that was thrown at you, but Rebus managed. “Thank you. I understand the importance of these - and I shall put the converter to good use.” - Jack had been singing with as much enthusiasm as he could muster in an attempt to cheer up Lyric, but now he was silent, looking towards the city with interest. It might have been actively being attacked or utterly destroyed, but Jack didn’t notice that yet. “I believe that the Skeins sacrificed themselves to contain it.” The current events with the Witherlord are actually a better regret than the Cricket, and I think I can write better flashbacks for them (I remember them better, and there’s more to reveal). Would the vision switch? - “Are you aware of my ultimate motivation? I’m trying to continue to exist in the Thread - a hard-to-reach backup of me and a method to increase emotional depth are certainly assets.” Rebus grinned. “As for a quest, I have somewhere to start.” His smile widened, going from cheerful to downright unnerving. “Narrators are much easier to find than Luxite, after all…” Rebus exploded into a cloud of nanomachines, reforming behind Fog in an instant. Instead of his Narrationblade, he held some sort of rifle. “I would use utility fog, but I’m not certain you’re corporal enough. Lightning should suffice.” With a grin, he fired the electrolaser.
  20. “The second,” Rebus said, “though manipulating the style of text is another useful trick.” “You should be able to take how you changed the way you were being described, and apply it to reducing description of your thoughts instead of increasing it.” The man, dressed in a black-and-white coat glowing with lines of orange light, smiled. “You can even change the content of description drastically - all without Narration, as long as what you want written really is the truth.”
  21. “Contained, yes. The Witherlord was locked away in the Void, and can be sent there again. Pacified is almost impossible - perhaps if the bearer of the Mantle wasn’t Malevolence, we could help them resist, but short of replacing him I do not know how we could influence it.” Rebus nodded, glad to see Ribbon was following and aiming to provide an example. “Try to bring your thoughts into the description - that’s simpler than hiding them, and easier to quantify success in.” Both can be true. Narration requires a Narrator core’s Prismite, but does involve projecting power outside oneself. There is also Chaotic Light around the Thread - that’s how Narrators regain power, and directing it makes them have more reach than they would otherwise. That’s what I think, at least - the nice thing about the Thread is that canon is what we decide it to be. Rebus scoffed. “Of course not. But are you one of those?” - Rebus smiled. “This is just I guess, but I believe you just copied yourself. This universe is permeated with magic - you may have more power here.” - This was perfectly understandable. Rebus would get her out once he could. - Rebus nodded. “Almost certainly.” Once he could read the coordinates, he teleported to them. - They’re legitimately the seed of a really good story - rewriting an old project with more recent skills is a worthwhile endeavor. - This continues below. The clone grinned - something to destroy and more Mordite. And then he frowned. He was letting the Mordite - both Chaos and Dark - get to him, but he really did want to destroy something, if only to test and show off his new powers. I shall escape, and then I shall be your blade. These powers are potent, but I shall restrain myself. The clone ducked under a blade, kicking low - his foot sprouting a Mordite spike as it made contact with the robot. - “I need to understand Luxite if I am to make my own weapon from it.” Rebus said. “It matters not if it is but a shadow.” Then the Dreamsmith spoke again, and he smiled. “Interesting…” - Jack joined him in the song, though he echoed Lyric rather than attempt to form verses.
  22. “If the Witherlord can kill this Thread, it may be enough…” @Aeoryi “You need to start by observing when you aren’t concealed. Can you sense the Thread?”
  23. “I’ve considered it, and it is a valid plan. Unfortunately, if I can do that, the Witherlord can follow me. Admittedly, once one hits a critical mass of randomness even an unstoppable force of destruction becomes rather ineffectual, but if the Sandwich is somehow destroyed your universe might simply cease to exist.” “Are you a Narrator, then?” Rebus asked, voice mockingly sweet. - Rebus grinned. “You’ve got powers, Rebyl.” - Atlas was evidently supersonic, since it had been a mere instant. Such was the power of Narration, of course. - Rebus smiled. “I can do Prismite. With our combined expertise and the power from your friend, I think we can make something worthwhile.” - Rebus suddenly knew things. Quite interesting things, in fact. - Even Nullite was not invincible - for if it was, nobody could make anything from it. Still, the clone followed the instructions of his ruler. Power gathered around his fist, and he punched the wall - except it wasn’t only the wall he hit. Reality cracked, space - and by extension the wall - shattering. The clone dissolved into Mordite and nanomachines, flowing through the gap and reforming outside. “I take some offense to minor, though I have ceded overt antagonism in light of the Witherlord situation.” Rebus took the beverage, though he neither needed sustenance nor was capable of actually tasting. “Malevolence holding Redemption may actually have been what allowed him to complete the ritual.” The clone understood. There was Mordite where Prismite had once been; new powers that could be tapped into much the same way his Narration had. - The count could differ depending upon what one considered to be care, of course. The Witherlord was, however, on the right track. - Rebus nodded. “That will be of use.” - Jack was worried because Lyric seemed worried, though he couldn’t tell why. Still, maybe these priests of Plot could help. “If that will help,” he said. He resolved to sing along with Lyric - the man seemed to need it. “I would argue the threat has not yet been brought to bear - and it has managed to stir engagement, since nearly every extent plot now involves him in some way.” Rebus sighed. “I can teach you the proper procedure - your magic will make it simpler than it otherwise would be.”
  24. Rebus scoffed. “Why would I try to contain the Witherlord? I am - in some ways at least - your opposite.” “Bravery would play no part in it - a Narrator could vaporize you with a snap of their fingers, if nothing protected you. A lack of ruthlessness, however, might be the trait you claim is cowardice - or it might simply be lack of interest.” - Rebus smiled - relieved, intrigued, and unexpectedly proud. He put a hand on “his” daughter’s shoulder, replenishing her strength with a bit of Narration. - With a screech of metal and another sonic boom, a shower of sparks and rock erupted from the ground perhaps ten feet over from Fog. The blur of movement - evidently having turned - was now heading directly towards the corrupted Narrator, still supersonic and nearly impossible to see. @Through The Living Glass, my supersonic robot is very slowly trying to kill you. - “Nullite might be able to protect us, or even briefly contain the Witherlord.” Rebus nodded thoughtfully. “But this person is almost certainly helpful. Nullite is Ordered Darkness, while Prismite is Chaotic Light. Between the two...” he smiled, “we should have techniques that work on all the Essences.” - Rebus continued to watch this, trying to remember if these people had been seen before. - The clone laughed, and corrupted utility fog exploded from him, slamming into the wall. “You do not need to tell Dark Cep, but I would say I benefit from the imprisonment.” Rebus smiled. “As for Luxite, the easiest source of it is now unequivocally out of reach. It can be extracted from the Thread, but that takes an incredibly long time - the only practical method would be a quest.” Speaking of information, I really should write more of those vision flashbacks… “Ah. I suspected as much.” Rebus smiled, returning the bow with a nod. “Hiding from Narrators or Authors is a near-impossible task. The Witherlord, however, may have no capacity to perceive the Thread - if that’s the case, avoiding spies may be enough to conceal you completely.” “The simplest would be to stop being a Narrator - if you need me to speak with someone in BFtS, I can send an intermediary with an emulation of my personality.”
  25. Rebus raised an eyebrow. “You should be dead…” and then he understood. “That’s what the Nullite is for, isn’t it?” - Rebus smiled, accepting the gratitude. - Rebyl was safe; Rebus gave a relieved grin. As safe as one could be in the epicenter of an apocalypse, at least. “Someone is looking after us, it seems. Still, if we’re going to get you home or get any help from another universe, we should get far away from here.” - Rebus was there, actually: I should have pinged you for that, or at least put them next to each other. - That’s probably a good thing. That would have been quite helpful. Unfortunately, the antidote never went farther than his palm. - “That’s certainly of use, but I’m not sure I can kill the Witherlord with it.” - Rebus watched from afar, preparing supplies and enhancements for the group. Yeah. I really should edit these better. Jack nodded. “We should, if that’s the case. Do you know where to find them?” - The clone stood, and a grin slowly spread across his face. The he spun, lighting-quick, Mordite erupting from his hand to rip through the antidote robot. @Keke, Dax may wish to stop evil(er) Rebus from enacting property damage. - That was like three people, but the dedication was appreciated. Rebus gave the Witherlord a suitably horrified gasp, so he didn’t feel too bad. - Rebus glanced at the necklace, curious as to what the Dreamsmith was doing.
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