18th Shard

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.

Maybe go with the Alleys getting attached to people, preventing the DA from getting in them, and Departments are in a Cold War standoff to "acquire" important Alleys through different means. The normal people are all the ones who get attached to Alleys.

I mean, based off Mac's report: Dept of Sales: Voidus R&D: The Stranger Dept of Advertising: ?? Dept of Recruitment (Acquisitions?): DoCI: Lita (formerly Mac) Dept of Spying (Intelligence?): Dept of Shipping: ?? Dept of Inter-Guild commerce: ?? Dept of Public Relations:?? Dept of Biochemistry: Aylitha (?) Dept of Alleymatics:?? Department of Testing & Analysis: Xanas (though I plan on replacing him at the end of the era). So about 5/12 heads filled, with 2 having been heavily involved in the Forgery and 3 massively affected by it. That power vacuum could Kickstart something.

Idea: I think having Departments themselves splitting under pre-Forgery and during Forgery leaders and groups might be interesting, with each Department Head trying to get consensus that they are in charge.

I'm getting kind of a Malazan vibe from the above ideas. You could have some parts of the Alleys and DA remain affected by the Forgery - when the Forgery breaks, the world is released but parts of the Alleys remain affected. Then the Denizens remaining in those portions would want to reestablish dominance and not bow down to heads they don't know.

I thought Raysium's ability would be cool - siphoning active Investiture out of someone into something else.

I like the idea of meta-investiture as Rushu mentioned above because on its own it isn't too powerful. We already have Seekers and Leechers and Aluminum Gnats. But making it more common for normal people, NPCs and PCs, means that having Investiture is no longer as universally powerful. Maybe we term it as a Resonance that occurred between the Innate Investiture of the people in the Alleyverse and the Forgery. Edit: They're powers that don't lend themselves to conquering but to resisting conquering.

I like this idea. Snapping into powers similar to A-Bronze, Aluminum, A-Nicrosil, Raysium, etc. could also help negate some of the more OP characters' standing out so much.

Xanas is head of the Department of Testing and Analysis.

Sanax smiled. "Of course! I love introductions. Defining variables is an important part of any science, and this seems like a particularly fun experiment." The bubble kept everyone moving slowly, but Sanax was too excited to pay it mind. Too many interesting Investitures illuminated inside the interior of the room. He darted quickly to the other side of Victoria, holding a hand in front of her. He started speaking rapid-fire. "This is Nurse Victoria Estrella. She works here at the hospital." He covered his mouth conspiratorily, "She's a Soother. That means she's probably trying to calm you down right now. It's instinct." He slipped a gloved hand into her pocket and pulled out a small vial of Brass, shaking it with a knowing smile, then slipped it back. Pickpocketing is so much easier when they are a bit in slow motion! He took a step to the other side of the room. "That one called her Vic, though, which is one hundred and four backwards in Roman numerals, though I doubt she means that. Scadrians don't usually use those. But thirteen times two cubed is a good number." Sanax flitted behind Reshilore, jumping onto the bed. That one was holding Vivica's drawing. "This is Reshilore, if I heard correctly. Resh, for short. Could almost be a Tai-na name. Mythology of the Islands - Lore of the Reshi. I don't feel any Investiture at the moment, but that doesn't mean much. I'm not hungry right now." He looked Resh up and down. "You would look better in a coat. You could pull of the absent-minded professor or the mad scientist if you did it right." He bounced back over to Ben. "I am the aforementioned Sanax Khaevarin. Type 1.5 Biochromatic Entity, a non-spontaneous sentient manifestation in a deceased host, without Biochromatic endowment. Though I also eat light, which is a handy control variable." He stepped to the side of the kid. "Introduce yourself for us, good sir. Your bubble's very nice. Very smooth." Sanax picked up a pencil that had rolled near his foot and then dropped it, his eyes following it to the ground. He giggled as it fell slower than it should. Time dilation could be so much fun. @Ashbringer @ZincAboutIt @Fatebreaker

I don't think we've ever had a Fused since I've been active. I'd think there should be a base Fused point value for the healing and potential reincarnation, and then an additional cost based on the Surge (similar to a surge fabrial), but I'm no mod. Also, I think we have had FTL Cytonic mentioned pre-Era 1 in the Alleyverse. Which means they predate the Cytoverse and came only from Defending Elysium.

Just a note on topic, Sanax doesn't actually see them. He is more sensitive to the Investiture of the Forgery acting up, but he doesn't see the creatures until everyone will.

So you're saying that you have two 'holes' in the Forgery in the same room as two of the craziest DA members, and Byron? Poor Byron .

Sanax woke to a trembling in the world. It was an unusual trembling - Sanax knew there was no tectonic activity in this world. Like Roshar, the continents had been made unnaturally. There was no slipping of faultlines, no volcanic turmoil that could unleash this furor. This was the wrath of the gods who had wrapped the world in lies. Sanax stood warily, swaying with the building. He'd never done measured the liquefaction potential of this world. Maybe the ground would fluidize. Sanax had never seen fully fluidized surfaces, though he'd heard about some of the effects. It would make a fascinating experiment. Sanax stepped carefully toward the nearby doors. Down the hall an open door revealed people standing around in the room - four persons to be exact. The first, Victoria, a neat, nurturing nurse, normally nearer the northern wing, Sanax thought. She was a circle, for sure - Soothers often were. The second, hugging her, had curly black hair in tangles about his head. Sanax almost thought he should be blinking or beholding blindly, but perhaps he just reminded Sanax of an old friend - a tangled knot or maybe a spiral. The third - a triangle's point, that number - glowed faintly to Sanax's eyes, and a distortion diaphanously dangled disjointed the doorway. Time bubble. The fourth was a woman who seemed familiar. There was a hunger in her eyes and a piercing look to her eyes, glazed with an empty Light. Sanax had never seen this woman before, he thought, but he recognized the look. This woman was a maze of Alleys, a fractal image. This must be the resident of the room. This must be the one who saw an imaginary octopus. Three more, and we could have a real one, Sanax chuckled internally. Sanax stepped into the room, the slowed time sliding from him like water on a slick slope. The bubble dragged on him, but it had no hold to slow him. Sanax walked with an exaggeratedly slow stride, trying to match the bubble's pace. It was like a gentle dance to a rhythm, pulsing through Sanax's chest spike like an heartbeat. Light swirled about them, and Sanax could feel its attention on them. He smiled and waved at Ms. Victoria, then bowed deeply to the other woman. "Always a pleasure to meet another Baker. My name is Sanax Khaevarin." He paused, straightening. "Oh, I have a last name. That's new. Tell me, is your hallucinatory mollusc also affected by the time dilation occuring?" @Ashbringer @ZincAboutIt @Fatebreaker

Technically, Aylitha is not aligned with the DA this era - she's working with Sudiov and the Stranger. @Rushu42 Aln did have a tracker placed on her at the Scholar's Guild to attract monsters (I just reread that bit).

Yeah, that would be right, unless Sanax starts actively Voidmaking (which he wouldn't do right now).

@ZincAboutIt @Ashbringer Sanax did collapse just down the hall from Vivica, so he's also nearby. It might be fun to have Byron try to handle both of the crazy ex-DA members at the same time. That can also help Sanax meet some of the other characters as well.

Emily heard Folorian call her name out, and turned back towards him. She hesitated, trying to think of recent patients who'd come in. There were a lot of new patients, but the Scholar's Guild did remind her of something. Oh, right, the animal attack. "I remember hearing about an animal attack at the guild recently. A few members were checked in for injuries sustained. Some monsters from the Alleys attacked or something like that. The paramedics said it was pretty messy, but I think the majority of the guild were okay. Some cuts and bruising, couple of concussions, minor infections. A few members hadn't been found last I heard, but I'm not really up to date on the situation. None of them checked into the Cognitive Ward, just the Physical Ward, so I don't know details on patient status, but if you're looking for someone specific, I can tell you who to talk to though. They won't be able to give you a ton of individual information for confidentiality reasons unless the guild head or an emergency contact gives you permission, but you would probably be able to visit them if they're stable." As she finished talking, something that felt like an earthquake rocked the building. Emily was familiar with the sensation - she'd gone to UCI for her BSN degree, but she didn't remember there being any faults near the hospital. @mathiau

@mathiau I know Folorian's question has been left hanging - I've been a bit busy IRL, but I'm hoping to have her response done by tomorrow morning. Sorry for the wait! But pedantry and petulance are so entertaining. Also, presumably at the Worldspike itself, the Forgery has lasted even longer than it has generally in-world, since the large amounts of Investiture should cause at least a little time dilation there.

Or in other words, you want to be the product to work on instead of the raw materials with most DA members.

Oh, boy. Do I have to break out my emergency stash of canned pineapple for safety?

I mean, Aon Kii can cause guilty people to feel pain, but they would probably have to feel guilty. That's the closest, I think. Non-cosmere: The Oath Rod in WoT could be used to that effect, but not unless someone is willing to swear on it. Indirectly, you could use the Daredevil approach of Tin allowing you to sense minor changes in demeanor. Strong enough emotional Allomancy could be used to make someone want to. Edit: There is a pair of Lenses capable of that in Alcatraz, but they're implied to be the only ones. Wolfbrothers in WoT can smell emotions, which can help identify lies, but it's not foolproof.