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Vaalirus -> RE: Friday, August 11th Design Notes: Fear Engine: Across the Fearscape (8/12/2023 6:06:00)
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Huh, didn't expect this quest to confirm so much
spoiler:
As suspected Sirius fears becoming the emperor of his homeland's empire not just because he fears the inherent responsibility that comes with the position but because of the corruption that is clearly sewn into the culture of the empire to keep it functioning. Those are not foundations I'd certainly want to inherent and I can't imagine Sirius would either less he be put in a position where he can no longer recognize himself. Him being competent in that position is the crux of the problem because it means being as conniving and shady as the rest of the imperial family just so that he survives. I found that line of "sacrifices" to be particularly worrying as to what's going on in the Empire's basement.
It comes as no surprise that the Hero's fears would be poked and prodded at as well which further reinforces our fear and anxiety of not being capable of protecting or saving those around us but also doing things that inadvertently put people, or potentially the very world, at risk because we were either careless or ignorant with our actions. Also, I find it somewhat amusing, and perplexing, that we were so quick to offer ourselves up to have our worst fears be the next enemy we fight to turn off the engine. Granted it might just pop out yet another version of ourselves based on our fears and insecurities but what if popped out like a SMUDD/Kathool/Wargoth/Jaania hybrid then that thing is just there.
As for Kassandra's fear, honestly didn't expect the cause of her parents death to be by some legendary monster but as Flabagast pointed out it makes sense now why she was so terrified when the Engine went haywire. She was scared that the creature that took her parents were coming for her next and the thought of facing it again is harrowing.
Ah but as was theorized in the last quest for this saga, we have the confirmation that Inanitas was or is a Celestial. What makes me curious though is that this quest would seem to indicate that Sirius already knows what a Celestial is or at least know what kind of entities they are to command such power. Which makes me wonder if the empire to south found other remnants of Exalted tech like the SoI to enrich their region as Lhe'Shiyac had or perhaps was there a time when they had been guided and cultivated by this Inanitas at the dawn of their empire. The former seems more likely as I feel they would know much more of the Exalted had they formerly had a Celestial guiding their development. Though it begs the question of how much the Imperial family knows about primordial Lore.
Also side tangent, but I liked that little mention of nature necromancy. We already know that all the elements are capable of performing some of the same spells but its nice to hear how they're expressed in different ways.
quote:
We know that Warlic is an Infernal in human form. Thus, his spells generate Mana rather than consume it. If he uses too much of his magic, his human body overloads with massive quantities of mana. I think Sirius is essentially experiencing a micro-version of the same thing. Whenever he casts 'normal' magic, mana is generated rather than consumed, and the excess mana burns him.
I'm compelled to believe that all Celestials and Infernals generate mana when they use magic but because their anatomy is different from that of humans, their bodies are able to handle large quantities of mana or dissipate it quickly. OR maybe their technology/weaponry allows them to manipulate their own mana in a unique way. Perhaps both? Maybe they're only able to power their technology due to their natural ability to generate mana...
Hmm ya know I honestly thought that when it was revealed that Sirius couldn't form normal conventional magic outside the rune magic tied to the Sword of Inanitas I thought he was experiencing a mirco level of what the Magesters are going through in which their connection to the Mana core have atrophied when they supplanted their original source with the mana core fragment. In Sirius case, the artifact supplants his tie to the core as a source of magic to pull from but in doing so he's blocked off from all other forms magicks and any further attempts to do so harm his very being.
However, I believe the overgeneration of mana could be the answer here as well. It would make sense that if both Celestials and Infernals generate mana by their very nature that a human body given this quality would conflict with the excess mana being forced through their bodies. The only part where I'm at a loss here though is if this is true then why does Sirius suffer no harm when he uses the rune magic of the artifact? Also, why only his hands? These are fascinating questions I can't wait to be touched up on.
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