A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

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Xerah
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Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:20 pm

You were not prepared, there is no shame in that, the only shame is in failing to prepare after ~ Cordorian High Chancellor Elwood Thron

Elwood says I’m not a politician. And, he’s right. I’m good at a lot of things, but playing that game was not one of them. It still surprises me that you can try to do good for a place and all everyone cares about is the unimportant details rather than the bigger picture.

None the less, I’m trying to improve the parts of me that need in as my double begins to turn on the pressure. She said it's coming. I’m just not sure how long I have. It has to be a gradual fall. She won’t believe me if it is too easy for her to corrupt me, so I’ve asked people I know who can help me with that. Eventually, it’s going to come to a point where I have to do something I don’t want to do and that’s what I’m most worried about.

Well, the part that I wrote from the past few days isn’t relevant anymore. I was foolish not to realize that while my double was emotionally invested in my fall and I may fool her, it was her superior who saw right through me. Luckily, Jadoth was able to pull me back and not a moment too soon.

Note to self: Refrain from future attempts at scrying. I’m not trained enough to attempt it and with the difficultly I am having to recognize reality from illusion, I must have teleported there instead of just viewed the location.

And, so now what? People are changing before my eyes, my new home has been ransacked, and all hope I had to work from the inside is now lost. We’ll have to hope this ‘bookmark’ that was left behind will help us find this location again.

She's promised payback against me and I have no idea what that could be...

It’s hard to move forward when this consumes your entire thought process, but I’m finding moments of clarity in the day to try to focus on other projects.

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Appendix A.28

I’ve spend some time finishing a commission from another gnome. He wanted a device similar to S.H.O.C.K. though upscaled to a much larger size (six times, in fact). I will need to ensure there to be an acceptable use clause to make sure the device is not used for vile purposes.

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Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

Xerah
Posts: 2036
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:37 pm

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” ~ Unknown

A war to end all wars—what hand am I playing in that? The Spriggans are using my stolen devices in attempts to build a weapon that can do what sounds impossible.

A war to end all wars? The only way that seems to be able to happen is if the entirety of the world was destroyed.

No matter how much help I seem to enlist, it always is for naught. The spriggans are constantly a step ahead and even when we seem to find the upper hand for a moment, it is quickly snatched away.

I’m beginning the work of a joint plan between a number of groups that will hopefully be able to capture my double. We need to take away her safe haven just as she has taken away so many of ours.

Oh, yes, and I’m a man now.

Which, hopefully, won’t be for long…

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Appendix A.29

In an effort to make the Turret a bit more welcoming and a place to highlight gnomen design, research, and engineering, I’ve put together a new device called I’ve called H.A.I.L. The purpose of the device is to provide an image that speaks to any new person entering the building and welcomes them. In addition, it will also explain where things are and what to expect when you’re inside.

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Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

Xerah
Posts: 2036
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:11 pm

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” – Famous Ilmatari quote

Is this light I see at the end of an eternal darkness?

I can’t believe I’m of her blood. That said I suppose I should be thankful it is not my mother. How awful would that be? But, she is still my aunt. My mother’s twin sister. I’d like to say I can’t believe she never mentioned that she had a sister, but after seeing what she’s done thus far, it could be that my mother was embarrassed.

But I have two names: Selmila, my aunt, and Lysa, her daughter. If I can find Lysa, maybe I can change her mind.

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Appendix A.30

I’ve got a copy of the plans of how my aunt has adjusted Elwood’s wild magic cannon. They used some of my own devices to power it—and I know it’s not my fault, but I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible.

The easiest way to stop this cannon is to seal the injection of water. Once that happens, the pressure will build until the chamber undergoes a catastrophic explosion. That said, this could also result in the wild energies sealed inside exploding as well, creating unexpected results. If possible, we may need to steal the thing in walls of force to prevent this.

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Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

Xerah
Posts: 2036
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:50 pm

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of those who live.” ~ Rathenek Senther, Scrivener of Doom

My entire life seems to focus on death.

My mother.

My father.

Countless friends.

And even those caught in the middle of everything who are just trying to make a living for their families.

Who am I left with? An aunt who was party to all of that. How can I just forget about everything she’s done? How can she even forget about it?

One thing I know I can’t do focus on everything I’ve lost. That’s what she did and that’s why she fell that far. So, what do I do instead? I throw myself into my work. My golem army will be ready within the ten-day for the defense of Bendir. I didn’t expect to make these many golems, but I know of no other better way to offer something that will be immune to the corrupting energies of the cannon.

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Appendix A.31

With the amount I’ve been exposed to the Spriggans, I’ve pushed my mastery of the school of illusion to develop some new devices. The first of which is something called D.A.R.K., which has the ability to tap into the shadow plane and extrude shadow-stuff into the prime. The material I’ve used to create this device seems to weaken with each use, so the device will not function forever.

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Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

Xerah
Posts: 2036
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Tue Nov 14, 2017 8:57 pm

Scars, real or emotional, have the strange power to remind us that our past is real. ~ Famous Waterdhavian Author

It’s over; it’s finally over.

Their final assault on Bendir has met with failure thanks to the combined forces of basically everyone on the island. My understanding is that it pushed them all into retreat, specifically after the death of Mephez. Will they come back? I don’t know. Maybe one day after they rally enough support again.

I hear some people are calling it the Illusionary war. Part of me feels that disrespects the memories in that it suggests that everything was an illusion. I have these scars that I’ll carry for the rest of my life. And, I can assure you that they are very much real.

Aunt Selmila left me with her an old locket that my mother once made, her faery dragon familiar, and made me an offer: to kill her. Freely and without remorse. But, how could I agree to that? What would Lysa think of that if I killed her mother after I reunited the two? And honestly, her death wouldn’t change anything. The only thing that would change is to give me a push towards the Crawler—sating my bloodlust and my vengeance is the opposite of what I need to do now.

Instead, I let her know my true feelings. How she took away both of my parents from me and I don’t know if I can ever forgive that. She was so caught up in bloodlust, that in her view, the only payment is more blood.

It was time to break the cycle. One thing I hope is that quote I told her from that Scrivener sticks with her.

At least, now I can focus on my healing and my efforts towards the two Towers.

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Appendix A.32

During the planning phase of the attack on the Spriggan Academy (in Glorag Mur), there were plans to drill from the surface into their stronghold. To do that, we stole a drill from the Grotto to repurpose for that effect. Time was going to be of the essence, so haste was required, thus I modified their designs to incorporate a sonic element as well a weave attunement.

The one issue that this design does have is that the speed that the high-density Pufferfish in the widget that introduce the sonic element begin to rotate at such a speed that the metal will eventually begin to melt. So, it is one use only. If the melt begins to occur on a large scale (and it will), but sure to run, as the cooling of the metal will eventually create a residual shear that will cause a catastrophic explosion.

We didn’t end up using it, though great care should be taken for anyone who does.

Image
Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

Xerah
Posts: 2036
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:39 pm

Re: A Tinkerer's Trademarked Treatise of Transmutation

Post by Xerah » Tue Dec 05, 2017 12:10 am

“Being ready isn't enough; you have to be prepared for a significant change.” ~ Unknown

Archmage Lissa Whitehorn…

It still sounds strange. I’m not sure when I’ll get used to it but it’s just hard to imagine hearing that when part of my mind still recalls when I first arrived seven years ago as that lost, nervous girl who was by herself for the first time. Even though I know I'm not, sometimes that self-doubt creeps back into my mind.

Angela was right when she said that I could say goodbye to my free time, but I think it was time to retake the reigns of leadership. After the Spriggan war, it is a good chance for me to refocus on what is important, and right now, it is the Arcane Tower.

And, it’s not like I got a break.

I’m still working on updating and preparing all the documents as a result of the Radiant Heart, but it is mostly something that was necessary anyway. I do think it was more of a hammer when just a scalpel was needed. At least now they can focus on the real evil of the island instead of us.

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Appendix A.33

One of my current projects is to repair the golem that was destroyed a number of months ago when the Tower was modified. Luckily, we were able to recover the heart and a data core from another golem that can be repurposed for this project.

The first step is data collection, so my aim is to review the designs on as many of the other golems on the island before attempting the repair of the heart itself. It is also a good project for the students to help me with. To start, the first golem we’ve reviewed are the Mithral golems in Cordor.

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Katernin Bersk, Chancellor of Divination; Kerri Amblecrown, Paladin of Milil; Xull'kacha Auvry'rae, Redcap Fey-pacted; Sadia yr Thuravya el Bhirax, Priestess of Umberlee; Lissa Whitehorn, Archmage of Artifice

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