18th Shard

Voidbringers!

@Szeth's Facepalm From me as a counselor: pay attention in class and take notes. Decide to be 100% in every activity and encourage others to be involved as well. Think of personal goals to work on during the week and think on them throughout the week. Have fun, make friends!

Experiment 17ΨÅΩ: Testing and Analysis Controls Report Department Head: Xanas Khaevarin, Head, Department of Testing & Analysis, Dark Alley; Inventor of the Disclaimer; First Denizens, Member, Dark Alley; Censor of Hawaiian Pizza; etc. Researchers: Xanas Khaevarin, Shoggoth-delta, Phil Smith, Sila-son-Andura, Dhlam R&D Experimental Results Summary: hCu micropsikes (⌀2nm±10pm) containing consciousness/intelligence obtained from eldritch residents of Alley (3+4i)-ژ [subjects 17ΨÅΩ-d1:10] implanted in entomic eusocial right thoracic occipital bindpoints of members of a Ishakidris ascitaspis colony (source: Earth) [s.17ΨÅΩ-r1:300]. Subject 17ΨÅΩ-r49, a female ergate, ~6 months old, cultivated the colony fungi into eldritch variations on Aonic symbols (see App. 3.1.2), before internal hemorrhaging in the hemolymph of the petiole caused termination. Time from procedure to variant behavior: 10m:05.721s. TIme from behavior to decease: 1m:10.290s. Controls report: Subjects selected from the same colony (17ΨÅΩ-r301:100300) implanted successively with s.17ΨÅΩ-r49 spike [spike 17ΨÅΩ-T1]. S.17ΨÅΩ-r100301:200500 implanted with hLs spike containing the spiritweb of s.17ΨÅΩ-r49 [spike 17ΨÅΩ-T2]. S.17ΨÅΩ-r200501:300700 implanted with spike 17ΨÅΩ-T1 with minor variations in placement (on order of 2 picometers]. S.17ΨÅΩ-r300701:1000000 spiked with the other intact spikes remaining from R&D experimentation [spikes 17ΨÅΩ-R1:100]. S.17ΨÅΩ-r1000001:2000000 spiked with various potential local Investitures, referenced for confounding variables, on orders of a hundred thousand with the following tests: Scadrian, Selish, Rosharan, Nalthan, Taldainian, minor Shardworlds, Calamity/Invocation, cytonic, eldritch, Alleymatic. None of the subjects exhibited exceptional behavior as reported of s.17ΨÅΩ-r49. S.17ΨÅΩ-r2000001:2000009 frozen for genetic sampling. Remainder of colony [s.17ΨÅΩ-r.2000010:200020] terminated. Recommendations/Notes: DoT&A reminds R&D that evidence of experimental repeatability is required for submission to T&A controls testing, particularly in unexpected spontaneous development of Realmatic capacity. N.b. Sanity is a complex subject with a chaotic response to multiple variables. Like thermodynamic systems, a state of high organization is unlikely due to the high number of potential states. Entropy applies to sanity as much as macrostates, and the likelihood a mind will fracture in a repeatable way is an exercise in futility if random chance is to be relied upon. Conversely, given a great enough sample size, sanity should develop in nearly every circumstance. Sanax unthreaded his blanket in the darkness. There was a thread loose, so he pulled and pulled. The stitches came undone. The binding came undone. And eventually, there was a pile of threads, but no warmth. Sanax wrapped his own darkness around the threads and trailed them around the window, around the door. Around the bed, around the floor. Dark threads, to stop the light threads. Light threads, tangling around the hospital. There were many threads here, and many threads meant many holes to poke and many tangled ends. The binding was coming undone. Sanax was insane. The reinforced, unopenable window was proof of that. But a stopped clock is right twice a day, and a blind man sometimes sees more clearly. There were threads that needed pulled in the hospital, and Sanax was in no position to tear the cloth. But there was one thread he could pull, the only thread he still was tangled up in. Himself. He knew him and him would want him to pull the thread so he could free him. Hmmm. Sanax opened a small Alleyway, pulling a dark, cracked Blade through. Tsarik was dying slowly, as surely as if Honor’s counter-rhythm was playing within him. But the edge was still sharp, and it could still cut. The Alleyway shifted to a dark hallway, a gold plaque on the wall. Sanax dropped the Blade, giggling. Him would sing hymns of him when he found what he did for him. Threads in the room snapped with Sanax’s brief sanity. He started arranging the piles of threads by color. There was green and more green and greener-green. And then faded green. And white, like bone.

Yeah, it's exactly like EFY was - minor changes, but none bigger than differences between different sessions of EFY. I'm a counselor, and so far, it's been awesome. Had one Sanderfan this last week in my group, and got to explain that while I was definitely an Elsecaller, Skybreaker was in my top 3, so I was going to enforce any rules to the letter.

I'm a counselor for FSY (church youth program), so I am super busy most of the summer. Plus none of my characters are really need another post yet, so I haven't started one.

@Voidus Does Esserethel have any particular meaning? I noted Lucien essentially means "light", so I took a minute or so to try to parse Esserethel meant anything equally appropriate for someone who messes with Investiture. I could break out an es or esse or essere for "is" or "to be" in Romance languages, but couldn't get anything that seemed cohesive from thel or serethel or rethel. (Translations I did find: se = "him/her/itself" in Latin; ser = abbreviation of "master" in Italian; sere = archaic English for "barren" or Italian for "evenings"; Rethel = a town in France; re = Latin for "a thing" (ablative) or Italian for "king"; reth(-e) = Old English for "terrifying" or "savage"; el = "god" in Hebrew). So esse reth el could mean "To be a terrifying god" if you mix Latin, Old English, and Hebrew. Which is somewhat appropriate, if probably entirely coincidental.

Vivica wasn’t at the door when Emily knocked. That was unusual for her - she was a pretty early riser. Emily opened the door. Vivica was sitting slumped next to her desk, blood in a puddle on the floor. Emily shoved the door all the way open, running in. She was about to check Vivica's pulse before noticing the incisions on her wrist and throat, a sharpened spoon fallen from her hand. There wouldn't be a pulse. The cuts were straight, precise, careful - like Vivica's art had been. An envelope, made from a neatly folded sheet of paper, lay on the desk, just outside a pool of blood. Professor Esserethel, it read. A blood-soaked towel lay underneath her wrist. Drops of blood dotted the floor beneath the sink, though the sink itself looked like it had been rinsed clean. Emily held back her emotions. Suicide was uncommon among her patients. The ones who were most at-risk were kept under strict observation, but Viv had been doing so good recently. Dr. Estrella had even commented on how calm she'd been after the earthquake. There just hadn't been any warning signs. Emily clenched her fists. Her nails dug into her skin, the pain giving her something else to focus on besides Vivica's body. Emily stepped out of the red puddle, leaving vivid footprints. Emily carefully slipped her shoes off next to the door. She didn't want to track blood around the hospital wing. She closed the window screen and softly shut and locked the door. She walked down the hall to the receptionist. "Could you buzz Dr. Larsen and admin? Vivica...um. A patient's, um, expired, and I need a doctor to pronounce her... gone... before we can start any of the post-mortem procedures." Emily was proud of how steady her voice was. John stared for a moment, then picked up the phone and made the call. Emily stood awkwardly, the tile floor cold on her socks. “Did Vivica have any, um, family we need to contact?” John typed a few keystrokes on the computer, then shook his head. Emily nodded, biting her lip. In the corner of her eye, Emily saw Katarina Larsen walking up. “Okay. Okay. I’ll, uh, I’ll help Kat then.” Kat and another nurse, David, walked ahead of her. Kat entered Vivica’s room. She gestured at the body. “Emily, could you confirm there isn’t a pulse?” Emily nodded. She slipped her shoes back on and carefully touched Vivica’s shoulder and Read her. She shook her head. Kat frowned sadly. “David, can you get the room and the body ready for the morgue? Emily, you’ve done enough here. Could you get the paperwork filled out? Her chart and an incident report?” Emily nodded. Kat shook her head. “Gosh. I didn’t think Viv…. I’ll - I’ll have the charge nurse call the police.” Emily slipped her shoes off again, grabbed Vivica’s chart from next to the door, and headed to rinse her shoes off. The changing room had a bathroom off of it to shower if needed. Emily washed the blood off her soles. Then she rinsed her hands. There were spots of blood on her fingertips, on her nails. The dark red almost looked black, like tar. She scrubbed them again, rubbing soap over her hands vigorously. Another nurse came in - Jose, maybe? Emily was pretty sure she’d seen him in the physical wing of the hospital once or twice. He waved, stepping into a stall to change into scrubs. Emily made a quick smile at him. It felt fake, like a cheap Halloween mask, chafing the skin. Emily slipped her shoes back on. She grabbed the forms she’d need from John, and David handed her the folded envelope she’d left for Professor Esserethel. She walked to an empty office, flipping open the folder with Vivica’s chart. There were so many blanks on the first form. Name: Vivica Roth. Sex: Female. Age: ~30. Date of Birth: Unk. Race: W. Planet of Origin: Sc. Address: Perm. Hosp. Res., Rm. C181 Home Phone: N/A. Email: N/A. Patient’s Employer: N/A. Emergency Contact: N/A. Family: N/A. Approved Visitors: Prof. E., Laurelai Esserethel. Insurance: N/A. Marital Status: S. Language Preference: Eng. Hearing Impaired: Yes. Vision Impared: No. Allergies: N/A. Natural Investiture: fBz, aBz (Comp.). PMHx: Left ear, neck - severe burn damage; hearing in left ear impaired. Severe insomnia. Frequent hallucinations. Complete Bronze Compounding dependence. PTSD. Minor agoraphobia, severe pyrophobia. See psychiatric history for specific mental health treatment plan. Notes: Do not permit new items to remain in the room without a doctor’s approval, regardless of type. Vivica may attempt to use them to assault orderlies. Emily pushed the folder to the side and started filling out a suicide incident report form. It was the first time she’d had to fill one out personally. (1) Identifying Information Name: Vivica Roth Sex: Female. Age: ~30. Date of Birth: Unk. Planet of Origin: Sc. Address: Perm. Hosp. Res. (2) Suicidal Act Place: Einladung Hospital, CW, Rm. 181 Time: ~4:00am, 12 Scholus Method: Lacerations on right wrist; severed carotid artery; significant blood loss. Discovered by: Emily Azizi, ~7:15am (3) Psychiatric and Medical History Emily copied down the notes from Vivica’s chart. Vivica is - had been - such an interesting patient. You never knew what you were going to get with her. Left ear, neck - significant preexisting burn damage; hearing in left ear impaired. Severe insomnia. Frequent hallucinations. Complete Bronze Compounding dependence. PTSD. Minor agoraphobia, severe pyrophobia. Prone to mental breaks. Recent psychological evaluations indicated increases in emotional and mental stability. (4) Family Psychiatric History N/A (5) Personality and Lifestyle Often detached from immediate circumstances. Enjoys artistic expressions. Can have quick mood swings. Generally curious. Emily wiped a tear away before it fell onto the papers. She had a portrait Viv had done of her in some papers at her apartment. Vivica had given it to her on her birthday. (6) Typical Patterns of Reaction to Stressors Increased detachment from reality. Hallucinations. Mental breaks. (7) Recent Stressors Short temporary relocation due to earthquake. Attempted assault on nurse - non-malicious. (8) Role of Drugs or Alchohol N/A (9) Interpersonal Relationships Professor Esserethel, Laurelai Esserethel (10) Suicidal Ideation Assaults on others - rarely injures self. (11) Deterioration of improvement prior to death Mood and stability seemed more positive prior to death; handled stressors of earthquake and new visitors well. No obvious signs of emotional deterioration. Emily tried to think of anything Vivica had said the past week, any sign at all of her plans. The sharpened spoon meant she’d been planning this for some time, but Emily couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary Viv had done. If anything, she’d seemed happier. She’d even said Bennington had been feeling particularly purple, which was generally quite positive for her, and Vivica wasn’t a good liar. There just didn’t seem to have been anything. Emily banged the desk. I should have seen something. This can’t have been out of nowhere. She picked up the envelope. Maybe Vivica said something in here that would explain why she did what she did. She toyed with it, then set it back down. She’d let the Professor read it first. Maybe Vivica had something to him that would help this make sense. Emily kept filling out paperwork, writing final notes and the date of death on form after form. She turned it in to John, and asked him to make sure Professor Esserethel got Vivica’s note. Eventually, a police officer came and asked her a few questions. A hospital psychiatrist left a voicemail on her mobile, trying to set up a meeting. She ignored it. She’d deal with it tomorrow. Katarina told her she should go ahead and head home, get out of the hospital for a bit. So Emily did. She drove home in her scrubs, walked in her apartment door without turning on the lights, shut the blinds, and went to sleep. @ZincAboutIt @Voidus

@ZincAboutIt I am always amazed at how well you nail character in your art.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

@Fatebreaker Sanax is an Investiture sink - trying to Sooth him won't work. It would be like Soothing someone covered in aluminum.

Sanax stared at the new arrival. There was something about this one - an echo of something familiar. Like hearing the sound of the Endless Ocean near Kasitor, or the creak of his office door hinge. Echoes of a location - like the sensation of a bat flying. Echoes, like the inside of a cave or an Alleyway. Like the sound of the darkness pulsing in the spike in his chest. Like a hammer, reverberating, clanging, beating metal into submission, only the metal was soft brains and twisted connections and blood, pouring and gushing and twisting. Sanax stumbled back against the wall, Vivica's pencil dropping from his hand. The pencil lead broke as it hit the floor, leaving dark particles on the ground. His eyes stared at the room around him as he sunk to the floor, sitting with his back against the wall, knees pressed up to his chest. He rocked back and forth. It was too much. The white lights. The doctor's coat on the victorious star. The time dilation, dust flitting around the bubble's edge, falling faster outside, forming a little ring of dust where the bubble intersected the floor. The blood on the papers in Vivica's hands, the just-broken smile on her face. The dark, curling hair of Reshilore, gold glinting in his hands, intense eyes hidden beneath a veneer of self-deprecation, the worldspike diagrammed on the paper in his hands. And the echoes of this girl, the resonances she brought. It was all too much. He stared, trying to remember, but everything was like a dream, with no beginning, no end. Just the festival and the hospital and the earthquake. The lights and the darkness and the echoes. And beneath it all, a maze, a labyrinth, a city of alleyways. Sanax leaned forward until he sat on his knees, face close to the tile. There was a pattern in its faint greys and whites and off-whites. He grabbed the pencil in his fist, snapping it in half. The lead stuck through end of the upper half, and he began to draw on the floor. A circle in the center, and a twisting pattern stretching out of it. Like arteries from a beating heart. Like ants from a mound. Like roads from a square. There were highways, and turnpikes, and roundabouts. Capillaries, and veins, and ventricles. An ouroboros snake seeking new food. The motion was familiar, calming. Sanax kept drawing, his face nearly pressed against the tile, drawing over dust and books, loose paper and fragments of the gypsum ceiling panels. And echoing in his head, a single word. Remember. He knew something, he knew it. But it wasn't there. It had to be somewhere in the drawing, somewhere in the graphite filling the tiny scratched world beneath him. @Ashbringer @Fatebreaker @kenod @ZincAboutIt Emily held Josie tight next to her as the aftershocks shook the room. They sat against the interior wall of the room, on pillows, with a blanket spread about them. Something had fallen in front of the door after Emily had gotten inside - a shelf or cabinet - and Emily couldn't wedge the door open. Spiderweb cracks filled the window, but miraculously, none of it had cracked. Josie was fine - she'd been coloring in bed, and had only been thrown forward a small amount. Sirens could be heard outside, so emergency services should be there shortly. Emily pulled out her phone. Cell service was down, but it seemed like the wireless connection the hospital provided was still working. Emily sent a message, letting the other nurses know where she and Josie were. She glanced down at the page Josie held out to her and drew a single line, creating the third side of a box. Josie laughed, closing the box, writing a careful heart inside the square, and then marking a tally on the opposite page. "I get a point! I'm winning by two now." Josie drew another line and placed the book back in Emily's lap. "Your turn again!"

I like it.

I really like your character design here, @Harbringer of Auroras. It's a great way to synergize two powers. If it's information that your character is interested in, especially with a background in experimenting, the Dark Alley would be happy to help to your character. Unlike the Ire, the Dark Alley encourages the pursuit of all knowledge, Investiture, insanity, and unknowable secrets, and are well-funded to help in those pursuits!* Unfortunately, my Dark Alley character is otherwise engaged, but there are plenty of Alleys and Denizens who can help you reach your potential. (*DA disclaimer applies)

What if Virtuosity is the One of the Iriali? The Coppermind records, "The Iriali worship a god they call 'The One'. According to this belief, the One knew everything but had experienced nothing. And so the One became Many in order to experience all things. As each experience is different, it brings completeness to the One. Eventually, all will be gathered back in when the sum of land is attained and they will once again become One. Every person is a different mind of a single being experiencing different lives. As Many, they need ignorance. Each fragment of the One’s mind has its own body with different passions and inclinations. They exist in variety to experience all kinds of thought. That means some people must know and others must not. Just like some people must be rich and others poor." We are told in SP#3 that "Virtuosity splintered herself" near Painter and Yumi's planets. Why would a Shard splinter itself? Brandon said in a livestream that between the Shattering of Adonalsium and the Splintering of Virtuosity, she was "exploring the artistic expressions of the cosmere and choosing not to settle in one location." Perhaps she knew everything about the art of the cosmere as then present, but wanted to experience it herself. Perhaps this is why nightmares and the spirits Yumi sees are drawn to art. If true, this would mean the Iriali most likely left one of these two planets before going to Lumar and Roshar.

Not a mod, so don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure that's a perfectly great idea. I think it isn't on the list because a Seon really isn't that powerful. Besides having the ability to have your Seon talk with other Seons or to send it somewhere you aren't, there really isn't any ability it grants. However, definitely a cool character attribute and can give you some good RP variety.

I think HR would deal with mostly internal matters, so as long as PR is focused on non-DA relations, they'd probably be safe.

Here's the policy on posts like this from the mods. Ah, ninja'd by Zinc.

It's incredibly hard to find at all. I don't think there are any entities there, but a base there is definitely not a great idea. Besides no one in the base ever wanting to leave, there's a high chance of them killing each other to prevent anyone else from having access to the Chapel. It's a very nasty location to be. 0/10 stars, would not recommend.

The contracts are with entities in the Alleys. Also, as Zinc mentioned, the Chapel of Rain is her creation and so anything there should get run by her. For approximately 99.99% of characters, interacting with it will result in you never leaving, so I wouldn't recommend it. Even high up DA members would struggle to ever escape.

Love this idea. Although Mac created Cam, so I'm not sure if I'd want him on the other end of a bargain. I might end up as a defendant in a class action lawsuit brought by angry cthuloid entities.

Alley 0? No, in my idea above, Living Alleys wouldn't make contracts. It would be beings in parasitic Alleys who would, and it would certainly almost never be worth the cost. Those deals would be Faustian bargains - and the greater the gift, the much, much more drastic the cost to the person involved. Living Alleys are simply stable, and there is a person who is able to access it. That doesn't give them any innate power, simply bargaining leverage. But plenty of the Dark Alley members aren't above torture or kidnapping if someone isn't being amenable to demands, so I wouldn't say that being a Gate to an Alley would be a particularly safe or powerful position to be in. The idea above isn't to promote powerful characters but to create a plot where deals between people and guilds, espionage, intel gathering, etc. are extremely important. Also, I wouldn't plan on RPing a brand new guild and expecting them to rival well-established guilds. Guilds are more like alliances between people, who share resources and information, and who work together for certain goals. The DA are a group of scientists seeking to push the limits of Investiture and in particular, Hemalurgy; TUBA (the Underground Baker's Association) is a guild who had moral objections to the DA; the Ghostbloods are a secret organization seeking to gain power behind the scenes, and who were available to hire; the Scholar's Guild is a gathering of scholars, obviously, who want to gather knowledge and educate others; the Canton of Combat was a group of individuals available to hire for policing or guard jobs. All of these major guilds consisted of a number of different players and characters, who formed the majority of guild members. If you want to try to start a guild, go ahead, but don't expect it to suddenly rival guilds that have existed for many years and included a lot of discussion and people. That kind of influence comes from a lot of people in the RP agreeing and making characters who join the guild.

Yep. For those unaware, here's the original thread referencing it: Edit for bad pun: You could say in this proposal, Alley Nought is not.

Yeah, @Ashbringer did a great job explaining. The first Worldspike still exists but is affected by the Stranger's Forgery. In large part, he did this to create peace in the Alleyverse by diminishing the DA and therefore the other guilds in the city who were formed in response. Essentially, the Forgery is large enough you could consider it nearly an alternate timeline. As for era 6, I thought up the following idea which could combine some of the thoughts we've been throwing around: My idea was that the Alleys were a creation or extension of Voidus (and perhaps other early DA members), and with the Forgery's creation and then undoing, the Connections of many Alleys - to Voidus, the Dark Alley, and, for some, the Alleyverse itself - were disconnected. The inhabitants and stores of many Alleys were completely lost, and the Alleys became rudimentarily alive as never before. Many alleys become parasitic, feeding on souls, blood, or Investiture. Many of the eldritch alleys are of this kind, and the creatures which inhabit them have a connection to the Alleyway. Bonding or making a pact with these beings allows you to access the alleyway, with the alley and the host creature feeding off the bondee to maintain the connection. The Chapel of Rain inhabits another one of these Alleys, feeding off of the will of those who enter its waters. All of the parasitic Alleys have very negative effects if large amounts of Investiture or people are within them. Some Alleys reacted against the Forgery. These Alleys often attached to places or items in the Alleycity. Some of these places became stedding-like, cutting off particular kinds of Investiture. Others amplified them or altered their functions. Nearly all have significantly different physics and rules as the normal Realms, often resulting in meta-Investiture effects occurring within them. These Alleys are often the closest to the Physical Realm, and walking into any old alley may lead into an Alley. A very few Alleys became far more fully alive. These Living Alleys alone were fully functional as before, able to contain large amounts of Investiture. These Alleys bonded to individuals symbiotically, often without the people being aware of it. These Alleys were extremely hard to find from the Alleyways, and even when found, very few allowed access within them. However, if the individual bonded to it (termed a Key or Gate, maybe?) was made aware of their connection to the Alley, they could access it and make it accessible to others. However, the well-being of this person was directly connected to the well-being of the Alley – and if they died, the Alley would collapse. However, if the individual had children, their children would inherit this bond, and the Alley would grow. With limited safe Alleys and Investiture caps within the Alleys, the DA desperately needs to find Living Alleys. Cuts in work staff, experimentation, and Investiture access are made in every department to fit within the stable Alleyways still under DA control, and newly found stable Alleys are a hot commodity between departments who are often paying enormous costs to eldritch beings for access to Alleys. Explorers are sent out into the Alleys to find them, and political deals, blackmail, and corporate espionage are not uncommon. The unspoken rule is first into the Alley keeps it. Guilds are recruited to search for Alley Gates amongst the population of the Alleycity, with massive rewards. Meanwhile, another related crisis becomes apparent to a few in the know. The First Alley, the Platonic ideal of an Alley from which all alleys emanate, is nowhere to be found. This Alley has apparently become Living, and if it dies, the other Alleys will begin to fade into the Void.

I'm going to be a counselor, but I don't know where yet.

I had a family on my mission who loved making ginger cinnamon tea. It was so good.