Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Caellath]

Leon was flying lower than usual. His fighting spirit kept him warm, but only when he was actually in a fight. At the moment both him and his mount were using material from the camping kit to stay warmer.

"The cold is unfortunate."

Leon to 6-6.

[SOLDIER First]

"If you are cold, you can stay near me. I can keep a low warmth going."

”I thought you needed a tome to cast that kind of magic.”

[I_Like_Pi]

Shortly after Alana knocked on the door an old man greeted her.

"Ah, it's been a while since I've seen the military about. I'd like to report something. About a week ago a strange man visited my house. He told me 'Old timer, you'd best stay away from those bridges and the lake on the other side of them'."Stange fellow, wore a red cape and a blue coat."

[Swordstar]

Alana grimaced, recognizing that description.

"We are here now. We will look into that man for you. Tell me, did he wear glasses? And please, let us know if there is anything else we can do for you "

[kj1225]

5, 2

[Powder Miner]

Kristijan exhaled slowly into the cold Southern Astrasian air, his breath misting up in front of his face as he did. This wasn’t his first time in Southern Astrasia — his parents were technically still members of the Astrasian military after all, and this meant he’d moved into quite a few regions of the country. He didn’t remember it being this uncomfortable, though. Maybe it was the few scars the battle with the rebels had left on his body — Hallbjorn had been a lifesaver, but Kristijan had kind of been taken down a lot. Oh well! No reason to be down, right?
:"Ah, it may be cold out here, but we’ll be fine! This isn’t the coldest it gets out here, after all."
5, 5

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Ah, no. Magical implements such as tomes and staves are required for major arcana, such as combat magics, but talented mages are capable of channeling minor spells such as this. Really powerful mages are able to call strong magic without needing a tome; I'm not at that level yet, but perhaps one day."

[SOLDIER First]

”That makes sense. But casting combat magic without having to carry around a bulky tome... It sounds amazingly useful. All the logistics: the extra weight, the space needed, risk of losing it or using it up, finding a kind you can use - gone, everything. How does it work? Do you know?”

The normally wooden Sverrand seems to lapse into what someone could refer to as “excitement” as he speaks.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I can't speak with authority, as that's beyond my capabilities, but I imagine it works much like this little fire does. Keeping this warmth going is a little tiring, but not enough to seriously effect me. Extrapolating from that, and the few accounts I've read of mages able to do such a thing, it takes quite a lot of energy to cast major arcana; for example, some can heal wounds through sheer force of will without needing a staff, but the process is so exhausting that even the greatest can only do it once or twice without needing attention themselves."

Matthias seemed pleased Severrand was taking an interest.

"Now, tomes work by having certain runes of power spread through the pages with special inks. These runes - and what kind of ink - determine what type of magic they are able to focus; for example, this one is a basic fire spell. Staves are similar except they use a focusing crystal and special kinds of wood; ash for a basic Heal staff, dogwood for Antidote, et cetera."

He held up his Fire tome so Sverrand could see it; the book was in fairly good condition, though there was some wear on the bindings and the edges of the pages were tattered.

"The problem is that while tomes and staves are the most efficient way known to channel magic, they can only last for so long. The tomes wear away; the crystals on staves break and become useless. That's part of why the gems the rebels were using were so interesting; this is the first I've ever heard of a focusing agent other than these. I wonder how they were created, and what they're capable of..."

[SOLDIER First]

”That’s really impressive. I heard stories, from my— ...from when I was a boy. About spellcasters who could make you burst into flames with a wave of their hand, or heal a wounded battalion back to fighting condition in seconds. I never would have thought they were actually true.”

“...Sometimes I think about what it would be like to use magic of my own. The strength of a knight is hard to beat, but I would never underestimate an enemy mage, either.” He pauses and shakes his head. ”...No, that’s just wishful thinking. I shouldn’t dwell on what could be when we have a goal to complete.”

At the sound of the r-word Sverrand’s fist clenched around the handle of his sword.

”The thought of rebels having such a powerful tool on their hands makes my blood boil. I would love nothing more than to find even just one of them somewhere around here...”

[SeriousConcentrate]

"It's a rare person who has the aptitude for both strength and spells. I couldn't wear the heavy armor that you do."

"If you find one, do leave him alive long enough to be interrogated. If we could gain useful information we might get commendations."

[SOLDIER First]

”We’ll see,” he says matter-of-factly.

”...If you trained for it, it wouldn’t be impossible. You do seem thin for something of this caliber, though.” Fist, meet chestplate. ”I would recommend starting off with something lighter. Like what Kard has.”

[I_Like_Pi]

"I believe so. He was always fiddling with them. But if it's really not too much trouble, could I request that you find my woodcutting axe? I can't remember where I placed it but it should be somewhere close."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"Yeeeup, lighter armor is pretty fantastic in terms of a compromise between protection and mobility. You need to work damn hard to be able to wear something real heavy and still be able to move and fight." Kard's breath misted in the cold, winter air, and his usually more open posture was drawn in, shoulders hunched against the frigid weather.

[SOLDIER First]

”That's right. In raw defensive power, there's nothing like a suit of heavy armor - but you can't just put it on. It takes a long time to get the feel for it, and even after that you'll still have issues."

Again, Sverrand drops his usual moodlessness as he speaks. This time, it's almost more words than the rest of the group had heard him say the during the entire rest of the week.

"Your running speed is lowered so much you might as well walk instead, unless you want to risk losing your balance and falling - a death sentence if you're retreating. And swimming is absolutely impossible. That's why you don't tend to see many heavily-armored soldiers on ships; they're too worried about falling overboard. I wouldn't be, though."


"Dodging becomes much, much more difficult. Heavy armor like mine is designed for protection, not mobility - obviously - and sacrifices articulation accordingly. Again, trying to sidestep something will almost definitely end in you falling over, or taking the enemy's strike at a strange angle and being left open for more. Most suits of armor do allow for decent mobility of the arms, though, so your offensive ability isn't impaired too much." Sverrand hefts his sword onto his shoulder to prove it.

  "And lastly, because I cannot stress this enough, it is heavy. You will not realize how heavy your armor is until you put it on and wear it through eight hours of drills. It is always heavier than you expect, and you will always tire out faster than you think. I promise you that. If you aren't completely sure of your ability to use it, don't even bother. Being able to shrug off arrows and blows that would kill lesser men is not worth running out of stamina before you even reach the enemy."