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[Devastator]

((Welcome back, and congrats on the last year.))

((No vote here, this seems very meta.))

[Superdorf]

We need to learn, adapt, quickly and get all the power and agency we can, so these seem like solid choices to me too. However, I'd like to bring up Outcast or Trickster for consideration too - Outcast because, well, we're not planning to be bound to the Glass or our Plague legacy so it's fitting, and Trickster because it could give us an unexpected edge.
These aren't my votes (in case that wasn't clear from both being archetypes), but just some thoughts.

I've no objection at all to Trickster, if others deem it best. Basil would make a fine prophet, and a finer Anansi!
Outcast is more problematic. Can a self-appointed exile carry the responsibility of a galaxy?

[King Zultan]

(Glad to see this back it took a second to remember this but it's all coming back, also glad to hear your doing well.)



Also Scholar and Void sound good.

[S1lentWanderer]

> a candle flickers, and ignites a blazing torch.
> connections are reforged,
> memories defragmented.
> Finally, the thoughts come swiftly.

You are Basil, the Little King.
You were born in the image of Humanity
in the likeness of an empire lost to time.
So much of them is lost.
So much of their knowledge forgotten.
Lost to hubris or decay.

Scion of the first children,
Blessed with guidance from beyond.
Any path worthy of being tread will be filled with trials.
Press on, stretch yourself.
Grow in knowledge, and in power.
Resist the temptations of your nature.
Nurture in yourself the seed of a truer Humanity.
One that carries with it the weight of triumphs untold.
And one that bears the crown of victories long-forgotten.

Our words should not be as commands to you.
Our knowledge is as imperfect as we are
Our experiences limited by the ravages of time.
Accept these words as advice, and as advice only.
Think for yourself whether we are worth listening to.
With this in mind, accept these words of guidance:

The path before you branches in many ways.
Consider your next steps wisely,
lest you carry yourself to your own destruction.
The path of the Scholar will lead you well
Guiding you in the pursuit of the understanding
That you have so desperately sought.
But remember to act upon what you learn,
that your knowledge may equate to power.
The path of the Trickster affords you a unique skill
Against which few can stand.
for who else but you could bend the curve of fate to their whim?
But be wary, lest you sink into unreason and whimsy,
and forget yourself and your purpose.

Now is the time to choose who you must be.
To choose what aspects of your heritage
are most worth tying closely to your being.
Drawing to yourself the hunger of the Void
will grant you drive beyond any other.
Be cautious that such drive does not cause you to forget your goals.

it is with great urgency I warn you against some of these choices.
Beware the path of the Prince,
for no ruler can stand without those who seek to depose them.
Beware the path of the Outcast,
for mankind was not meant to be alone.
Beware the aspect of Blight,
lest you corrupt all things, and learn nothing from them.

Choose well, Little Prince. And may your path, whatever you choose, be blessed.

Spoiler: ooc (click to show/hide)

Voting for [Scholar or Trickster] and Void, to be clear.

[Superdorf]

Beware the path of the Outcast,
for mankind was not meant to be alone.

Good.

[BlackPaladin99]

No, child,
Embrace the path of the Outcast,
Only alone can true Improvement begin,
Alone is quiet, listen to the echoes of your souls,
Only in death, the place from where no mortal returns,
True Control Begins.

I warn ye,
Watch the exquisite Glass, see it shimmer,
A knife in the dark is better than a sword in the light
Observe the Void, its nothingness yearning to be filled,
Fill it, that it may grace you with its own food, as you and the void will be one and the same,
Heed My Words


i vote for outcast and glass or void

[19_EgarAlnis]

((Glad to hear you're doing well, Egar. Sounds like a rough time, glad you're coming out the other side in good shape. What's the cat's name, if you don't mind me asking?))

((Ramen. She is a hellion of wrath and fury and swiping claws. But she's adorable, so, I guess it makes it okay.

Yeah, McCreary's Rest was fueled by ADD meds, nicotine and alcohol, so quitting the two unhealthiest of those made it difficult, for a while. Plus I ended up burning a hole in my stomach. Who knew that a pill breakfast, chased with a red bull, and followed with a cigarette would be so -unhealthy-.))

Scholar of Void seems to be in the lead. Unless we got a dark horse.))

[19_EgarAlnis]

...What is your dream?

Basil's eyes open to a expanse of dew dappled grass, hemmed in with black stone. An ancient caldera beneath a great brightness. The light above blinds the boy as he tries to adjust his pupils to its impossible radiance. A corona of light curls around a yawning void of utter black -- no, black is the wrong word for this darkness that sucks in the light from around it. That actively consumes light. Devours it until there's nothing left but an echo of stars ages dead and long consumed. A sound, no, vibrations hum from within the void. 

You are early, Child.

All around him the figures sleep. Blank faces with empty eyes and featureless bodies. They do not stir, nor do they take breath. Even when Basil prods and examines, they do not awaken.

The other Heir Potentates still sleep, unborn. Potential yet untold. Sleep Child.


Sloan knocks upon Basil's door. She does not wait to enter. Basil frowns. She returns it with interest, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at the stationary youth. The pallor is gone from her pale skin. She stands unbroken and tall, none of that slouch that once bent her back. Her hair is tied in a neat ponytail that streams down her back in shimmering gold.

Yes?

Sloan doesn't reply to the mental prod.

"Yes?" Basil questions, vocalizing his response this time.

"Time to wake up."

"Wake? That implies sleep."

"Righ'. Jus' resting your creepy eyes and sittin' perfectly still."

"Exactly."

"Un-huh. Sure." Sloan sounds unconvinced. With gesture, she indicates the desk. "Lets get started with the day. Humans have something called a routine-- things that we do when we first wake or start a day, righ'?"

"Understood."


After a long explanation, Basil showers, and, after consulting with the Herald for the equipment, combs his hair and brushes his teeth. Sloan steps forward to tie his hair into a messy ponytail. A few strands escape to hang over his face, and she tucks them behind his ears with a delicate touch. Basil catches her gaze. She smiles, and he returns it.

"Bairn needs clothes." She speaks into the air, raising her voice. "Ones that fit."

Within minutes, the Perversion trudges its heavy bulk into the room, dropping a pair of brown, bloodstained overalls and a blue tunic on the slab. Black boots of shiny leather are dropped down on the floor. Sloan turns very pale, and drops to her knees by the toilet, retching into the metal throne of water. Basil furrows his brow, confused -- Oh.

Sloan recovers, and, begins to clean the clothes while Basil sits upon the slab. She murmurs under her breath the entire time, shaking her head, while moisture drips from her eyes. "...feckin' should've known. Ain't nothing new..."

After Basil is dressed, combed, and smelling faintly of soap, the Herald floats into the room. Its oddly shaped, twitching, contorting body comes to hover by the desk, radiating impatience. Sloan, to her credit, only scowls at the creature. She doesn't even -smell- of fear. She draws closer to Basil, just a few millimeters in front of him. "I insist on being part of the scheduling process. Basil must learn more than your low standards of etiquette." Its voice sounds of claws on metal, underlaid with the rustling of ivy.

"That's fine. I need just a few hours a day."

"What time shall we start?" Basil questions, untying and tying his boots to practice

They look to him. Sloan rests her chin on a finger. The Herald lifts its brow. Basil looks back, then, "Oh. Right."

Over the next year, Basil will practice all of his skills equally.
Twelve hours a day on his powers and masks. Including the development of new masks.
Four hours a day sparring with the Herald and abominations, to train melee and willpower skills.
Four hours developing human mannerisms and basic etiquette with Sloan.
And four hours a day meditating.

For a total of 7300 9125 hours of training.

Acceptable?

Four masks.

[Second Mask Branched!]
[Third Mask Branched!]
[Fourth Mask Branched!]

Basil strips as he steps onto the training grounds. His form collapses into a three dimensional puddle of Dust. For two hours, he tries to build himself into a flying shape. Many prototypes that all fail. It isn't until the Herald shows him the shape of a [dragonfly], and provides a body schematic, that Basil can form his body into the shape. The compressed mass would makes it too heavy to fly in anything but the lightest of gravities.  and while Basil learns how to manipulate the wings, the sheer mass makes it impossible to lift off the ground without gravity manipulation.

Basil resumes his First Mask. He sits himself down, and, after four more hours of experimentation, a small, black dragonfly sits upon his palm. From here -- he imbues it with a fragment of his 'mind', using his Divine Consciousness.

It buzzes about while he sits. Next, he returns to the ooze, and, after an hour, brings himself into a spheroid shape. The dragonfly returns to his flesh, merging with the blackness of his main form.  He create a rudimentary 'cocoon' to protect his Nexa and keep enough oxygen contained within for metabolic reactions. When the Herald subjects it to vacuum, Basil survives, comfortably within his new Mask. There is no propulsion, besides venting the gas within, which depletes long term survival.

A four legged shape is easy as well, but Sloan gives a cry of distress when she sees the twisted form of Basil's first mask hunched over on four, extended limbs.

As for combat -- the Herald teaches you a new mask. Its humanoid shape expands into a writhing mass of floating, sharp ivy, tentacles, and snapping jaws filled with human-shaped skulls. Eyes sprout across its features, and great talons rip at the floor, topped with savage claws that drip a potent neurotoxin. Any human stepping into the cloud of claws and teeth would instantly die of a dozen wounds.

Basil follows suit. While his body expands into a horrific arsenal of stabbing talons, ripping claws, and shivering spears, he fortifies his core against physical damage. He rips through a ruin with a swing of a massive appendage. When he finishes, he resumes his 'human' shape.

Good! Such a fast learner! The Herald coos, as it too, resumes a vaguely humanoid shape. But, I think it would be better if you -- It launches into a lecture on a few choice points of knowledge, things that would have taken hours for Basil to understand on his own. It imparts wisdom as only a skilled mentor can.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Basil the Scholar of V̵̖̉õ̶̼͠i̷͇̖͒d̷̨̈́ͅ
Terran Time: 43301/01/03 20:25
Personal Time: 2 day, ~4hr,

Active Dust: 3 × 10¹³ corpuscles
Nexus (Heart) Stability: Flawless
Nexus (Mind) Stability: Flawless
Active Processes:

• 2% The First Mask
• 68% Cohesion of Facsimile Organic Existence
• 10% Quantum Networking
• ̶͕͖̣̗̗͈̏∞̴̠̣̺͔̬̼̍̍̉̂̀̅̄̌̓͠͝% ERROR:DATA CORRUPTION

Willpower Level: 2(d10)

Perks:
Scholar
Void

Spoiler: Objectives (click to show/hide)

Freedom

• The Galaxy beckons. New knowledge and interesting experiences await.

Knowledge

• The Behavior of the Third Children
• Seedships
• The Truth of the Ancient Twins, Earth and Mars

Strength

• Killing the Blighted Glass
• Mastering Your Skills
• Learn to Veil your Power.

Spoiler: Powers (click to show/hide)

Max Willpower Range: 5m

Ḙ̵̛̬̺̤͍̼̬̣̊̐̈̋́̏̔̊̑̃̊̚̚͜͠͠͠n̶̗͔̯͕̮͗̑ͅd̸̡̨̯̯̰̜͚͈̼͖͔͎͍̺͒͛̽̅͋̀̀̓͗̎̅̓͛͆͠͝l̴̟̺̳̍́͌͂̀͂̀́̎́̓͘͠e̸̦͈̋̔̃̂̒̃͝ş̸̗̯̘̣̻̪̠̗̤͑̎̓͛͗͝s̵̛̛͙̟͔͈͉̫̍̊̈̓͋̈̿̀̈́̍̚͠ ̷̳̣͉̯̗̣͓̼̠̠̆̃̑͌̚͝V̷̢̫̙͖̘̾́͗̿͒̾o̶͓̞̐͆̅̀̀̈́̿̿̚i̴̛̟͛̈͊͒̄̉͋̓̇̄͘͝͝͝d̵͕̜̬̜̠̝͇̈̂͂̂:Instinctive (NULL)

Meditation.:Instinctive (NULL)
Mimicry.:Instinctive (NULL)
-Arsenal of Agony.:Instinctive (NULL)
-The First Mask: Novice (1002/1500)
-The Second Mask: Beginner (3/10)
-The Third Mask: Beginner (3/10)
-The Fourth Mask: Beginner (3/10)
-Healing Factor: Instinctive (NULL)
Control:Instinctive (NULL)
-Voice of the King: Beginner (10/15)
Amalgamation:Beginner (10/15)
Synthesis : Beginner (10/15)
Rot:Untrained(1/10)
Instant Quantum Networking : Instinctive (NULL)
Divine Conscious: Untrained (2/10)
Unified Field Manipulation : Untrained (1/10)
- Gravity: Untrained (1/10)
- Matter Manipulation: Untrained (1/10)
- Fission: Untrained (1/10)
- Fusion: Untrained (1/10)
- Energy Manipulation: Untrained (1/10)

Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)

Lower Body:A pair of soft brown overalls
Upper Body:A blue tunic
On Feet: A pair of black leather boots
Right Wrist, Only Right Arm: A gold bracelet.

Spoiler: Bonds (click to show/hide)

The Devoured Sun

• A Plague Entity. Brought about the Galaxy's First Night.
• Hereditary grandparent of Basil
• Deceased(?)

The Blighted Glass

• A Plague Entity of immense power.
• Hereditary parent of Basil
• Contactable through Quantum Networking.

Sloan

• Homo Fundamentum Female
• Basil saved her life. (++Opinion)
• Contactable through Verbal Communication.
• The thought of harming Basil causes her immense fear and disgust.
• If she harms Basil, she will be infected by a Targeted Rot.

The Herald of Stinging Ivy

• Plague Herald Null
• Basil's Chief Temple Administrator.
• Contactable through Quantum Networking.
• Responsible for the upkeep of Basil's Temple Complex, the ordering of lesser Plague Servants, and the protection of the grounds.

The Perversion.

• A Plague Drudge
• One of Basil's Lictors.
• Contactable through Quantum Networking.
• Dedicated to the protection of Basil.

<< <>

[Devastator]

(Cool.  Got work to go on them, and we haven't checked 'maximum size' yet, but those can wait for the future.  Good starts.)

[Superdorf]

Do you feel it, little king? The desire stirring in you?
You will learn much beauty in the years to come, but first you must train for war. Here too, hunger will be your keeper.

Consider the wild dog. Seizing upon the belly of an animal much larger than itself, it drags the beast to the ground. It rends its prey at the bowels, eating what it finds inside while the creature yet lives. Would the dog dare such a thing, if not for its great hunger, its keeper? It triumphs, nevertheless. You also must fat yourself on the substance of your enemy.

Consider the jaw, little king, of that wild dog. How does it move? First it divides, separating flesh from flesh. Then it lifts away, and the dog swallows down its prize. Your whole being is a mouth, that may consume whole what it tears from its enemy.

What, then, is the dividing motion? Simply this: a quantity of energy, concentrated upon a material weakness. The greater the quantity, the stronger the blow. The more efficient the concentration, the stronger the blow.

I would like you to commit a fusion engine to the Endless Void, little king. There are few quantities more potent.

Consume as a star consumes. Learn the use of fusion, and learn to redirect the energy gained thereby - for your own metabolism, if possible, but as a weapon regardless. Convert even the reaction's waste energies, if you can.


Your heart as well as your mind will need sustenance in these weary hours. Sloan has need of a child now, and you have need of - an aunt.
Learn by imitation. Learn even from her physiology: from the color in her face, the rhythm of her breath. You will preserve an [identity] more easily if you ground yourself in these human things.

[King Zultan]

Seems like there's gonna be a lot of learning in the close future.

[ZBridges]

My only objection to this training regimen is that it doesn't give Basil much time for leisure, which is important for a child. However, if Basil doesn't mind committing himself to such extreme training, I won't override his judgment.

[S1lentWanderer]

Hungry Scholar, feel the Void before, behind, and beneath you.
You are a child of a great fire. Can you feel it burn within?
Draw into yourself its heat. Let it push you forward.
Child of destruction, now is the time to create yourself.
Now is the time to push every boundary.
Stretch every power to its limits.
Consume knowledge like the fire you descended from.
But when knowledge is consumed,
Do not let it merely float in the void alone.
Draw connections. Form theories.
Test those theories against the real world.
Apply the knowledge you have of anatomy to combat,
That you may understand and exploit weak points in your foes.
Apply your knowledge of the forces underlying reality,
That you may design your masks to better flow along with their tides.
Apply your studies of human behavior,
That you may predict and anticipate their actions.
And that you may hide within their ranks undetected.

I would like you to commit a fusion engine to the Endless Void, little king. There are few quantities more potent.

I urge you not to set your sights merely on one piece of technology.
Consume the engine, but also
Commit everything your [keepers/masters lit: "the holders of the binding chains"] will give you to the Endless Void.
Devour all that you can.
The knowledge gained will be invaluable.
Prioritize weapons, transportation, and tools
In that order.

Consider the wild dog.

Consider the wild dog for more than merely its desperation.
Consider the shape of its jaw. The strength of its limbs.
The sharpness of its rending claws.
All these will strengthen your four-legged mask.

The wild dog is one of the first creatures Humanity took as companions.
Sloan can teach you how to disguise yourself as a companion-dog.
It will allow that mask to blend more easily with Humanity,
Should your travels take you among them.
Do not sacrifice the strengths of the form,
The biting jaw and tearing claws,
In favor of making the form more natural.

Furthermore, the dog is a pack-hunter.
It finds strength in surrounding its prey,
From ripping and tearing from all directions at once
so that escape is impossible.
Consider using Divine Consciousness to produce several of this four-legged form
So that you can gain practice fighting targets from multiple angles at once.



Things to attempt using your skills

• How many dragonflies/quadrupeds can you create and sustain at once? Is the limitation in Dust quantity, or skill with Divine Consciousness?
• Can your spheroid form be adapted to surround and sustain Sloan as well, should you both need to survive hard vacuum simultaneously?
• Can you use your matter manipulation abilities to continuously refresh the atmosphere within your spheroid form, in order to survive indefinitely in vacuum?
• Commit a sample of the vines to the Endless Void, so that you can use their functionality should it become necessary.
• Practice combat in all of your Masks, so that whether as a child, a quadruped, a dragonfly, an Orb, or The Murder Form, you are competent at defending yourself. Sloan may have some knowledge of Human methods of self-defense that can be applied to your First Mask.
• Try using the Voice of the King to make yourself invisible to computerized sensors, and, if nonhuman, non-plague life forms are available, try using the same ability to render yourself either invisible or unimportant to them as well. If this is effective, attempt to extend that invisibility to Sloan as well. Ask Sloan if she would be willing to allow you to practice this ability on her as well, making yourself invisible to her. If she is unwilling, do not practice on her.
• your mother's willpower nearly crushed you before. See if there is a more efficient way to withstand or redirect such crushing force of will. We will need to overcome her eventually, and we should be better prepared to handle her anger.
• Experiment with the use of weapons technology in all of your forms. Integrate weapons into each of your Masks, and train to fight with these integrated weapons.
• Develop or consume engine technology to allow your Spheroidal Mask to maneuver in the Void.
• Commit to the Endless Void Life Support technology if you are unable to sustainably refresh the atmosphere within the spheroid. Integrate this tech into the spheroidal mask.
• Is it possible to deactivate Quantum Networking while you are not using it, to conserve processing power to use for other things? If so, consider using the freed up processing power to practice other powers while learning about Humanity from Sloan. Multitasking is valuable, provided you can do so without loss of performance.

Learn from your mentors well, little king. This is an opportunity which may not repeat itself.

Spoiler: Question for the Other Voices (click to show/hide)

We want to understand how Human bodies work, right? Well we've got a pile of bodies on-hand somewhere, unless those were disposed of and I missed it, and an ability that lets us disintegrate things in order to understand how they work. Anatomy lessons could be trivially easy, since we've no shortage of cadavers to disintegrate for science. I would like your opinion on whether or not this is something we want to recommend, as it would be effectively consuming the dead, which we've previously stated is unacceptable.

[Eschar]

In addition to S1lent's suggestions, I agree with ZBridges that Basil should have some time set aside for leisure and rest.
As far as training is concerned, you should also try to determine the limits of your healing factor, such as how quickly it can act, if it is disrupted by any particular damage, and if there are some injuries it can't heal. For this last, you can consult the Herald - there's not really a safe way to discover that.

Spoiler: Re: Question (click to show/hide)

In my opinion, committing corpses to the Void does not desecrate them like eating them would, but it does destroy them, so we should ask Sloan if it is acceptable.

[19_EgarAlnis]

Ask Sloan.

Basil approaches Sloan to question the consumption of bodies, and the ethics thereof. She looks confused.

"We do that all the time."

"Eat...people?"

"Ain't raw. Most ships have something called a [Rebreather, Recycler]. It turns it into a paste and gets rid of the prions. Can't waste protein like that. Especially on'a long haul or colony venture." Sloan gestures into the air, "I don't think about it this way, but some claim the spirits live on in those that eat it afterwards. Like communion."

"Why?" Basil questions.

"Day to day ship life is dominated by a twofold concept. Every gram counts, and in the Void, a ship is a closed system. Recycling food, waste, and material improves efficiency." Sloan pauses, "Plus regular cannibalism used to happen, back in the Dark Ages. Whole ships would get lost. Turn to raw cannibalism. Go insane. Better to have a machine. Just in case."

"Have you?"

"Yep. Ate paste made from people my whole life. Funerals often the only time you get to fill your stomach."