Fantasy World Creations

---

"Of course, Your Majesty." Liudger responded.

---

---

When you waited at the gates to the castle, up ahead you saw a strange sight. There was a small crowd of people gathering a distance away, though what lead the group was an odd-sight to behold. Nyx, or at least, what you assumed to be Nyx, was striding forwards towards you. He was indeed bigger, where originally he was the size of a house cat, he now appeared as the size of a lynx. More than that, an entourage of city dogs, two squirrels, and even a wolf, followed behind him.

Once at the castle, the two guards at the entryway moved in front of you due to the unexpected nature of the crowd before them. However, one of them must have recognized Nyx, as that guard whispered to his companion. They didn't quite lower their guard until Nyx spoke out to them.

"Is that any way to greet the hero's familiar?" Nyx casually announced as the wolfs, and one of the dogs flanked him on either side.

"N-no.. Sorry sir! It's just the rest of the... animals...?" The guard stammered.

Nyx glanced back at them.

"They're my subjects."

[info]Color change for Nyx to differentiate him from generic dialogie.[/info]

---

Amelia opened her mouth to speak before she closed it with a smirk. There were public eyes on this whole mess at this moment, if she broke character now then there may be problems with rumors. Nyx was making quite a show with his precession and she needed to get him alone in her room to get the answer she needed. She found in herself a new calm that felt almost foreign existing inside her at that moment. Thinking fast she moved up next to the guard who seemed to be having an issue.

"The hero is aware of the pack that her companion has brought home with him. You can let them in, she has told me that she will take responsibility with the royal family and the household for any trouble this causes. She told me to come and make sure that you were at ease before her friend causes too much commotion. Let them all inside, on the hero's request," she said the last part with emphasis trying to keep her voice low as she looked at the crowd that was gathering, and attempted to draw the guard's attention to look at the crowd as well.

[info]diplomacy
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 11 + 14, total 25[/blockquote][/info]

---

"Of course hand-maiden..." The guard said respectfully as he stood to the side, alongside his other guard companion, to make way for the procession of animals. It was a strange sight indeed, and many of the townsfolk began to whisper amongst themselves. With the animals through,. the two elite royal guards took back their position. Many townsfolk still lingered, talking amongst themselves, but it wouldn't be long until the crowd dispersed.

There was a distinct glint in Nyx's eyes when you were finally alone with him with the rest of the animals in the castle courtyard.

"I have subjects too. In fact, they're calling me king." Nyx said in a pleased tone. "But fear not, you will always be my queen." He continued in a teasing tone.

Mendernich - Castle Entryway
Day 17 - Noon

---

"I see," Amelia said dryly as she rubbed the bridge of her nose as she gathered her thoughts as Nyx spoke.

"I'm glad to hear that this new development, despite not telling me ahead of time, has not affected your attitude or sense of humility, your highness," She continued with sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"But, I'll hold off my sea of questions for a moment and even carry you across the threshold to show my respect, you punk," she said scooping up her now much larger cat in both her arms.

"At least so that Corina and the staff don't murder us both within the hour. Have your new subjects follow us, please."

As the two of them moved towards one of the many castle side entrances. She decided that this was the moment to both get some answers and distract him from where the group was actually headed on this little parade. "You know I should call Mati on my friend's list to meet us I'm sure she'll be very excited to see you."

She uses that moment to smoothly open her blessing and focusing on the princess's name. "I think she was telling me this morning about a new oil they are putting in the bath today. If she wants to pet a squirrel I better warn her so that she can prepare herself for what's coming," she said both to Nyx and across the connection.

"Anyway, talk to me exactly what is going on to this new power," Amelia said deluging him with a number of questions doing her best to distract him from where exactly they were going. Sticking to the service paths her plan was to get all these animals clean before Corina had a chance to find the dirt-covered trail. She only hoped that Mati got the hint and could meet her there.

[info]Questions for Nyx

Are there any other aspects of the power he has been hiding?

How did he recruit his new companions?

Are there more of them that he didn't bring along?

He said they call him king, can he know communicate other animals?

Can he recruit other types of beasts?

If he is the king of the beasts, is he the king of beasts worldwide or is it limited?

Does the status screen give any additional insights?

Has he tested changing his size?

"How long can he hold his breath in this new form?

Do we mess with Amelia?
[/info]

While Nyx is distracted with answering the questions she made her into the bathing room knowing that this punk would argue and before he had a chance to run away or protest she kicked off her shoes and planned to jump feet first into the bath with a still clothed hoping that Mati would be not too far behind for back up with the rest.

"Now then, as king, you have to set an example and lead the others to make sure that they get clean to make sure that Corina doesn't murder us." Amelia said with a smile, "And if you hesitate I'm gonna just jump straight in clothes and all before you have a chance to escape, taking you with me."

[info]Diplomacy to get nyx and his followers to bathe
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 7 + 14, total 21[/blockquote][/info]

---

I see you! Matilda said excitedly through the link. From the corner of your eye, you managed to see Matilda waving her hands frantically from one of the castle windows on the upper floors. She disappeared quickly after that.

"It happened... when I last killed that hobgoblin in the forest with the rest of the Umbral Hunters." Nyx explained. "I wasn't close to leveling up, so I'm not sure what might have caused it. Either way, the moment I took it down, and we finished our call, a bear, a wolf, and these two squirrels appeared from the woods... then bowed towards me. Once we made it through the city gates, some of the dogs started to follow, and now, here we are."

While the group moved quickly, Nyx began answering questions.

[info]Are there any other aspects of the power he has been hiding?
None he's aware. The animals seem to be loyal to him, and he's grown bigger, but hasn't had the time to experiment with anything else.

How did he recruit his new companions?
They randomly started to follow.

Are there more of them that he didn't bring along?
There was a bear, too. But he figured the wolf was already pushing it.

He said they call him king, can he know communicate other animals?
He is able to communicate with the animals.

Can he recruit other types of beasts?
He has not yet tried.

If he is the king of the beasts, is he the king of beasts worldwide or is it limited?
He's unsure, but grinning, he told you he would be willing to find out.,

Does the status screen give any additional insights?
All he's been given is a new title, though no associated blessings were with it.

Has he tested changing his size?
He has not, but since you had given him the idea, he willed himself back to his normal smaller form. That done, he kept his small form since you were already holding him.

"How long can he hold his breath in this new form?
Perhaps a bit longer, but he hasn't tried.

Do we mess with Amelia?
Nyx laughs, and tells you you're his queen.

Do we mess with Matilda?
Nyx grins, but tells you messing with younger sisters is the older sister's job.
[/info]

Matilda then appeared fat the entrance of the castle bath, a huge grin splyed on her face.


Nyx cleared his throat and shot Matilda a disapproving look as the maid-princess quickly closed the gap between the two of you, literally running across the bath to tackle the wolf into the pool.

"These are my subjects." Nyx corrected as he winced from the splash of water the followed after. The wolf, who had been hesitant about getting wet, didn't look as pleased, but surprisingly, the wolf didn't seem hostile at all to Matilda, nor any of the humans they've met so far.

---

Amelia nodded as she got the various bits of information trying her best to absorb all the answers as quickly as possible. However, her thought process was interrupted by the act of human bowling that Mati performed as she knocked herself and the wolf into the pool. She couldn't help but giggle at the spectacle despite her attempts to stay stone-faced. However, hearing the tone in Nyx's voice she knew that some ground rules would need to be set out before things got out of hand. She was glad to see the wolf seemed well-behaved but they still this would take some adaptation on both sides.

"Nyx is right," Amelia said as Mati surfaced for a breath and she took this opportunity to disrobe to her undergarments, "these beasts are not pets Mati for the time being at least they are guests until we can figure out all the details of what is going on. I'll need to have a meeting with the council and your farther about all this."

"That being said Nyx, that guest status does not extend to the dirt and any insects you and your friends have on you that aren't under your new power. We are going to have to set some ground rules about bringing beasts into the city and the castle. Rule one is they don't eat people, which so far seems like it won't be a problem. Rule two is that for the time being until we can figure out how to normalize all this. Rule three is that all your subjects need to concern themselves about their personal health and hygiene; we want to avoid spreading anything that these people are unfamiliar with. This is especially true when we are still lacking a lot in terms of medicine."

"That goes doubly for anyone you bring into the castle, we have some people that are delicate as it is," Amelia took the opportunity then to step into the pool of warm water Nyx still in her arms, "Anyone who enters the castle proper needs to have Restore cast on them as well, at leat until we find a beter solution."

"For the sake of that third rule, I think it's fine for Mati to help 'groom' our new guests for the sake of safety. After all it's our duty as good hosts to help them reach the places where it would be impossible for them to normally reach right, Mati?" Amelia said with a sly smile and a wink in the young girl's direction.

"Please feel free to be diligent in your care for our new friends."

---

A few minutes past while Amelia took her time bathing and grooming Nyx as her mind raced over everything. Seeing carnivores and herbivores swimming together like this with no prodding sent her mind reeling. It meant that Nyx's power had the power to change their natural order of things. What would happen as that power grew? Was it giving the animals some kind of new intelligence? Would suddenly all the livestock of the world start fighting back against their ranchers?

All these questions and more were flooding through her head, sure she could think of very useful ways to use this new influx of populace but the ramifications of this development was enough to give her a near-instant headache. She would have to have a meeting in the days to come to figure out what this all meant and how best to proceed. She would need Nyx to test the extent of his powers.

She let out a dry chuckle, "What in the world will I do if it turns out he can talk to plants and give them greater intelligence?"

As she spoke that thought out loud something she never thought of popped into her head. If Nyx now could talk to animals did that also apply to her powers? What about things like plants? She knew her friend's list seemed in some ways limited by a distance she had yet to establish. However, there was one entity she never tried to make contact with not because of distance but because of not knowing their name at the time.

Now she did from her studies with Ragnar, and now that this had happened maybe something had changed. She took her time getting the last of the dirt clumps as she mulled over the idea. What was the harm in trying?

Once Nyx was cleaned waded over to the side of the pool she ran her fingers through his now glossy fur as he gave off the calming scent of citrus from some of the oils they had on hand Mati's voice drifting around her causing her to smile. "Stay here for a minute, Nyx, I want to try something and I need you close just to be safe," she said with a cool far off tone.

"Open Friend's List," she said as the status screen popped into existence before her eyes. Closing her eyes as she gave a silent wish she opened them again she focused on the add button then said,

"Add Velothia," she whispered trying to make contact with the planet itself or any spirit it may have. After all, on the ground floor of the castle in this recessed tub the only way she could get closer to the earth without being in the sewers or the cave.

[info]If this needs spirit to work I am happy to pay it.[/info]

---

"I will gladly help groom our new GUESTS!" Matilda announced as she eagerly pulled out a bar of soap seemingly out of no where and began to start scrubbing the wolf she had held. It wasn't quite the exact manners given towards a guest, but the wolf seemed to be putting up with it, though you did notice Nyx eyeing the wolf.

"Don't worry new guests, I'll be sure to clean each and every one of you!" She announced, her eyes having a predatory hint to them.

Nyx was taking everything in stride and seemed to only find amusement at the situation.

"Very well." Nyx said. "I'll go around casting restore on everyone, and I'll be sure to leave behind more of my subjects for the next time... Actually, I do have a request. ANd no, it's not treats..." Nyx said jokingly.

"I would like... some sort of place to keep all of these new subjects, or at least a place I know I can reach out to them quickly if I need to. Finding a clearing out in the forest could work, but I was thinking of a place that humans and demihumans can approach as well. I believe it may be possible to rally even the beasts of this world against your enemies. It perhaps would even be better, if your own human and demihuman allies can know that they have such a force as neighbors and allies..."

---

---

Notifications appeared in your vision.

[okay]Ability not yet unlocked.
You have gained a new title 『Attempted Divinity』
You have gained +1 SP[/okay]

A moment after that, you saw the red glow of Spirit seemingly encasing the floating menu of the Friend's List. The notification of 'Ability not yet unlocked' disappeared, and a moment after that, a new name was listed on your list:

Velothia

---

"Without question, we need to find a way to integrate your new subjects into society. So as long as we can find a way to feed the carnivores without them needing to hunt people and livestock  I think we can set up a barracks for them," Amelia said with a nod.

"As for fighting our enemies, I do think that would be a huge boon. But, I think that's only a part of the bigger picture think about what a labor crew of cows and monkeys could do for construction or whales as submarine merchants, not to mention the ability to gather information using mice and birds," the advantages something like recruiting animals to organized labor was almost too numerous to even list. The societal upheaval on the other hand of all the plans that were swimming through her head at the moment was nothing to scoff at. That being said, Bursteg was already backed into a corner, to survive they would need to embrace far weirder than this at the end of the day.

"I'll get the details for the various things we need priced out with Liudger and the rest of the council members-" Amelia paused mid-sentence as she looked down at Nyx if he was going to have as many subjects under him as she imagined he would also need a spot on the council and a high one at that.

"I name Nyx as my consort," she said to the open air of the baths. " And you need to name me your consort to, Nyx so that the animals understand my position. You also need to make a clan house or some kind of organization, one with branches for every type of animal you recruit. If you name various representatives they can come to you with various ideas or problems."

Having two ruling powers in one nation may make things troubling in the long run, but for now, this was the only way to work inside the current system and not make everyone go crazier than they already would. Before Nyx got too many creatures under his banner they desperately needed a way to start bridging the gap between them and the humanoid races. The consort only gained power if the boss had to leave their seat for a while so giving each other the title was the least problematic for now. It was moments like these that she wished she had a full court backing her up.

"We can work out all the various details of your new organization as we go, but you need to start founding one now. You'll need a name-" she said thoughtfully.

"Kemonozaki Clan, means rugged beast clan. The umbral hunters could be the vanguard, sound good?"

---

---

Seeing the name of the planet now on her friend's list Amelia was more than a little stunned.

Feeling the energy drain out of her suddenly and seeing that strange glow that changed the pop up before her eyes, Amelia knew she had accidentally done something. Exactly what she had done was a complete mystery; it felt like one of the few times she had wished for something and the system had glitched for a moment, but this was somehow different.

However, like those times, she wasn't sure how long the connection would stay open, she didn't have time to think. If she wanted to make contact it was now or never.

Without another moment's hesitation, she focused on Velothia's name hoping that everything would work as usual.

"Hello, Is anyone there?" She asked through the link glad that she could hide her fears from who or whatever was at the other end.

"I'm Amelia, Amelia Reinhart, a girl from another world, and I was hoping to ask for help from the planet, or at least that I could get a few questions answered. I'm really out of my depth here, and could use all the guidance I could get please," she said, shaking slightly, as an ice-cold shiver ran up her spine in the warm bath.

---

"Nyx? Your consort?" Matilda repeated, her eyes wide. "I guess politically it would make sense... But unheard of too. Nyx is super cute, but doesn't look much like a demihuman... It might be hard for a lot of people her in our city to see them all as equals too. But I hope my fears are just unfounded..." Matilda said as she methodically scrubbed and clean each of the furry guests.

Nyx laughed.

"Very well." Nyx said as he made eye-contact with his own people in the bath. Each of his subjects turned to him (even as they were bring briskly scrubbed) realizing he was about to say something. "Everyone, today is a momentous occassion as it is the birth of our people, the Kemonozaki clan. We do not yet have a homeland that is recognized by our neighbors. They think of us as uncivilized, unthinking, without their proper conduct. But with the help of my consort, our queen Amelia, we will elevate our people, and create a nation safe for all animals of the world!"

With that the other beasts in the bath either began to howl, bark, or squeak in cheer.

---

---

The voice that responded was a deep voice. One that seemed to reverberate through your head. It spoke methodically, monotonously, and most notably, slow.

"Amelia." It said in it's slow voice, your name alone taking a good few solid seconds for it to finish speaking. The rest of its dialogue was just as paced. "Of. Another. World."

"What. Does. One. Of. Another. Origin. Want. With. Us?"

---

Amelia listened with a smile, as she let Nyx make his speech while nodding to Matilda's concerns. She wasn't wrong after all, and there might be some kind of global backlash let alone the other nobles.

Once Nyx had finished with his little proclamation, she added, "We don't need to make this publicly known right away. This is just for the sake of our internal politics so that we know that we both are taking the need of everyone into account. That way if something happens the group inside understands how to maintain a unified front if one of us is indisposed."

She did her best to sound confident for Mati, but she was more than a little worried that something could go wrong. Making a home for every animal was a nice idea but she had no clue if it was even possible. There was eternally ingrained in their very blood. Could they change things like hunting habits without stepping on some more primal taboo? Right now even trying to approach that kind of question was impossible, let alone trying to find an answer. But for right now all she could do was smile and take things one step at a time.

---

---

Amelia sucked in a breath as she got a response. She felt the sheer gravity behind those words and was glad for once that her ability to connect with others was so limited for fear that whatever force was on the other end of the line might crush her by accident just with force of will.

"I need help- I want to understand this world to be a part of it more than just some refugee sucked through time and space. Understanding you, learning your laws, and the laws of the other cosmic forces like the gods is the only way we can bury our bitter feelings without causing harm in the process. A large portion of the population has very little true understanding of your history, and those that though are facing so much constant war that they risk becoming monsters themselves. Faced with those circumstances and my limited resources I need to make a choice."

"Please, if you can teach me about this world, stand beside us as you have always done, and we will do our best to respect your power."

"You are the only force with a given name that I know and has even attempted to answer me when I have called. Everything else is either too far away from me or only referenced in symbols and stories. You stand apart from the others unique in how you watch over our existence.

You are also a victim of the Shifting , stripped and reshaped by both the magic that summons heroes and the monster they fight. I don't want to be a mindless weapon killing others with no context in this war. I want to be educated to be a citizen of this place capable of acting because of some divine lottery but my own will."

"My companion as a beast has a vested interest in your health as you are key to his personage. Please I ask personally and as a representative of the people who now call you home-"

"Give is your blessing be that in the form of strength wisdom or some other strange magic" Amelia paused

"As comrades I would also be willing to help you or anyone you send who serves you- If there is a problem you cannot face alone."

"I beg you"

Amelia felt her body shaking slightly from the strength of her emotions. She was so tired of having a world thrust at her without explanation or consideration. She had been plunged under arctic ice expected to find her way in the lightless abyss. To loss herself and be a tool, or be some great leader to people she had only the barest understanding of. Either option would eventually lead to catastrophe and she refused to allow ignorance to be a shield if she allowed the worst could happen.

Finally this was a light in the dark a road that meant she might not feel like fake idol pretending at her job.

---

"It's strange..." Matilda said as she cleaned the fur on one of the squirrels.

"When I think about it... I've never seen wolves and squirrels together like this, and it's not like they form villages or anything. At most, it would be a family group, like a flock or a pack. The fact that the wolf let me clean him without much fuss, or even follow us here as if they were domesticated isn't something normal..."

She paused as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"What I mean to ask is have they become... more intelligent?"

Nyx was thoughtful for a moment as well, but eventually he responded.

"Animals have always been wise and intelligent!" Nyx stated though he became quiet after it. The other animals themselves looked towards him.

"However... I do admit that ever since coming to this world, my own perspective have changed on things... For example, when I lived with Amelia before finding ourselves here, all I really thought about was living life: eating, sleeping, playing. I still have my memories of our time back on Earth, and I still feel like myself, but even that statement alone wasn't something I would have even thought about just a year ago."

---

---

There was a long pause, and it was hard to tell if the voice in question was in deep thought, or if it simply took long to respond as its norm.

"We. Cannot. Grant. Blessings... That. Is. A. Domain. Of. Our. Creators... What. You. Seek. Is. Knowledge. Of. This. World... You. Seek. Knowledge. Of. The. Creators'.  Game... We. Have. Been. Created. For. This. Purpose... This. Conflict. That. Will. Rage. Upon. Our. Surface. Shall. Dictate. The. Fates. Of. Our. Creators. Of. This. World. Of. Your. World. Of. All. Other Worlds..."

"The. Menace. Of. All. Worlds. Shall. Be. Descending. Soon... The. Deaths. And. Births. Of. Creators. Will. Then. Follow..."

Mendernich - Bath
Day 17 - Noon

---

Amelia let the last bits of conversation settle in her mind as her two companions talked back and forth. The idea that Nyx's presence had somehow uplifted the other animals he was coming in contact with was more than just a little troubling if only for what that implied, and for the questions that followed as a result.

Was this a permanent change?

Would they continue to evolve as Nyx did?

How would Nyx change as a result of being in contact with them?

Then as she did her best to push those questions to the back of her mind something Nyx said hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Wait Nyx, what do you mean even a year ago? We were back home just a few weeks ago." She said, purposefully testing his memory to see if whatever power the two of them were being affected by was purposefully changing their memory and cognitive perception.

Was she changing in the same way without even realizing it? Trying to think on that was quickly giving her a headache. How much had she changed in subtler ways than acquiring a magical staff? What really sent a chill down her spine was that no one knew her well enough or was aware enough to tell that anything was wrong with them, if anything was wrong with them.

---

Mendernich - Bath
Day 17 - Noon - After the conversation

---

Amelia felt an icy cold chill run down her spine as she heard the words of the planet ringing in her head. In particular, the words "created for this game, and the menace shall descend" sent her mind reeling. Over half the world that she knew of in this world was under direct threat and this was only the opening act?

She stood in the bath suddenly filled with this dread and needing a place to put it.

"I have two questions left for you. Do you know any names of your creators? And My last question how much time do we have before this menace arrives in full force?"

Looking to Nyx as she stood the look of dread clear on her face she simply gave him a look that she was about ready to leave. She only hoped that Ragnar had enough time to get the church together by the time it would take them to travel through town. She would need to write a report on what she had just learned but she needed to keep her hands busy to organize her thoughts.

---

Mendernich - Church of Light
Day 17 - Evening

---

When she made her way to the church through the town after getting everyone dry and set up in the castle the sky was beginning to turn orange. Not wanting to draw attention she was back in her Liam outfit with Nyx following in her shadow. If the threats were going to get significantly worse then she would need to work hard from now on.

She stepped into the church and searched the room for Ragnar desperately hoping that he could provide her with some sense of stability and the tools she needed to try and turn the table against her sense of crushing responsiblity.

---

Nyx was about to reply confused by the rather strange question you had asked, but then he paused.

The cat's eyes furrowed as he shook his head.

"We've been here for a year, have we not?" Nyx asked, turning towards both Matilda and you.

Matilda looked confused, but she shook her head. "No... Nyx... It's like what Amelia said, it's been maybe 3 weeks or so."

Nyx paused, though he looked as confused as the both of you. "Hmm... It's strange, but I feel as if I'd been the Beast King for... much longer. But at the same time, I do recall that it wasn't all that long ago since I first met you Matilda, or became the hero." Nyx looked like he was in thought again, but then blurted out some questions.

"Did I not lead my subjects to battle against the terror of Maou Folgias? Or what about the heroic Pili? Did I not train him in the ways of war?" He paused the moment those words left his mouth, his face in full confusion.

---

Mendernich - Bath
Day 17 - Noon - After the conversation

---

"There. Are. Four. Hundred. Eighty. Six. Creators... Each. Of. The. Creators. Have. Many. Names... Each. Of. Them. Aided. In. The. Creation. Of. Us... Of. Those... Six. Of. Them. Have. Been. Granted. Stewardship. Of. Us... They. Are. The. Elemental. Creators... Anema. Of. Air... Pyra. Of. Fire... Hydrea. Of. Water... Gea. Of. Earth... Caliga. Of. Darkness... And. Luxa. Of. Light... As. Once. They. Were. Called."

"The. Menace. Of. All. Worlds. Are. Arriving. Even. Now... They. Are. Coming. Slowly. But. Soon. They. Will. Become. A. Flood."

---

Mendernich - Cathedral
Day 17 - Early Evening

---

Ragnar Barnabas had been waiting for you at the cathedral. He already seemed to have a bottle on hand. Although, it didn't take you long to realize it was some sort of alcohol.

"Amelia. Queen, you got to try some of this. My special brew." He flashed a grin. "So you want try your hand at brewing was it?"

---

Amelia's heart froze as her hand immediately went to her mouth and her eyes hardened slightly as Amelia came to understand that this wasn't just some prank Nyx was pulling. Clutching him close to her chest she sucked in a large breathe before burying her head in his darling boy. Just this morning she had promised herself that no matter what came her way that she would handle it.

It apparently only took her til noon for her to break that vow to herself, if she wasn't so heartbroken she would be laughing like a lunatic.

"Fate just loves hitting me with trucks I guess," she thought to herself. "Just when I felt like I was getting my stride,"

Buried within Nyx's warm back, the smell of citrus and bergamot clung to her nose. It took her a moment to speak but when she did find her voice at the moment she was surprisingly strong.

"Nyxilous, you are a punk, and I've raised you to be a loving man. They said you never left my side while I was injured, for you to remember what was happening in this world a year prior would normally be impossible since you were living with me, Cameron and mom and dad in the other world."

"I think based off of your sudden change of speech mixed with the memories was brought on by the unlocking of that new power," [/b]she paused

"I don't think that this is something either of us can fight easily, but I promise that I'll stay by your side no matter what. Even if it means dyeing part of your hair blue again like Cameron did to remind you of your roots." She said with a firm smile.

"So, don't try to fight it to hard, it will probably just give you a headache in the end. Try going a little deeper what specifically do you remember?"

Saying she doubted they could fight this mess made her want to scream, but a voice in the back of her mind kept her mind clear despite her stormy heart. No matter what happened Nyx was part of her family and she would love him no matter how he changed. And if she wanted any sense of stability going forward her only option was to dive into the chaos head first and start fishing for clues.

If she could understand what exactly was happening to her friend maybe their was a way to control it

---

---

As Amelia took in the information doing her best to memorize the names of the various goods as she quickly stumbled her way over to her bag at the edge of the bath to pull out her notebook and a pencil to jot things down.

486 Creators, in other words, gods, who have various titles
All made the various worlds 6 are stewards for this game
Anema = Air
Pyra = Fire
Hydrea = Water
Gea = Earth
Caliga = Darkness
Luxa = Light

As she finished jotting that down her notes quickly something about the planet's mannerism stuck in her mind. If this was all some kind of twisted game, then those goddesses could be seen as administrators of sorts on the side of good. Just as if this whole world was some kind of battle simulation. Her mind raced as the analogy sank in especially if she took into account things like her status screen or friends list.

The gods were using programmed interfaces as a way of organizing each and every action a hero attempted.

Even outsiders like Amelia were logged regularly in whatever divine bookkeeping the various systems constantly kept track of. If anyone had full access to the various higher level administrative systems in place it would be one of the goddesses, but the planet itself naturally had to have access to some of those records as well.

She bit her lip as she ran the numbers, in case the planet refused to answer a second time or if she was somehow locked out she needed to push for one or two more advantages. If this game went so far as to alter the memories of the people they forced into being pieces well then she could rest easy by getting some rare information,

"Before our link ends can you show me any information you have about any worthwhile or rare resources near me and their gathering areas? If I could find the places that we could use to grow stronger we might have a chance. I can give you access to my mind more directly so that you don't need to worry about translating. Things like rare beasts and their spawning grounds, gemstones, rare plants, leyline location metals, any area with a level requirement. Anything you have on hand for my region could be of untold help."

[info]Amelia will pour more spirit as needed to get the memory transfer ability to make it so the planet can download anything it can. [/info]


As she did her best to focus on opening her mind, her last question entered her mind, "Can you grant me access to anything like a morphing grid while you're at it? look at my memories if there is a system in place akin to what I mean, surely with the shifting there must be a subsystem of magic that you would have access to that would fall into that category."

"Thank you for the time you have given me so far,"

---

Mendernich - Cathedral
Day 17 - Early Evening

---

On hearing her true name get called out so openly, she looks around to see if anyone could have heard the outburst and quickly approached him.

Realizing that chastising him would just add a bad taste in an already bad day she chose to ignore that first problem of her persona, in favor of keeping things moving, so she simply took the bottle from Ragnar in one swift motion taking a light swig to steady her fraying nerves before handing it back.

"Today has already been a day Father, can we walk and talk while you show me to the lab? You also may want to have more of that stuff on hand. I come barring complicated and possibly bad gifts. I hope you take it well, but I certainly need to take this time crafting also as a kind of confessional. I could really use something that makes me feel useful today."

---

[okay]You have gained a new title『Idolized』
You have gained +1 SP[/okay]
Nyx nodded at your explanation.

"Ever since I received this new title, I have been feeling a bit more than myself. There are times where I feel much bigger than myself, both physically and mentally as well." Nyx said as he looked at you with a far-off look in his eyes.

"I remember... a different life. I was the king of a nation of animals. It was normal... In fact, in our world, we had creatures we called humans that were used as pets occasionally and weren't all that bright. Then I remember my kingdom splitting and disappearing before my very eyes. I found myself instead near a forest near the Idorian Magic Kingdom. I had found out then we were at war with a demon called Maou Folgias. I remember a futile attempt by the Idorian Magic Kingdom to push against Maou's castle, and along the way, we had run into a forest where we met a fairy and a heroic squirrel by the name of Pili."

Nyx scrunched his face up as he tried to remember the fuzzy details of his memories that seem to both be and not be his own.

"I trained him. I saw the value of teaching one other who was very much like me. The others went ahead for their push, I promised them I would catch up right before we storm Maou's castle."

Nyx grew silent.

"I remember getting killed."

[info]You now have access to Nyx's character sheet, but give me some time to clean that up properly, his sheet is still on a very old version. I'll message you the link, and also link it from Amelia's sheet once its ready.[/info]

---

Mendernich - Bath
Day 17 - Noon - After the conversation

---

When you attempted to allow the link between the two of you, you once again received a familiar notification.

[okay]Ability not yet unlocked.[/okay]
But a moment later, you saw the red glow of Spirit, and a moment later, the notification disappeared. Almost immediately a flow of information started to appear in your head. It felt very much like when you had shared Adhelm the images of clothing, although this time you were on the receiving end of the memories. Not only that, the amount of information being shown and funneled into you was nothing short of extraordinary.

The memories weren't quite implanted, it was as if you were being shown the memories and images of locations of what you needed. But you feared that the amount of information you were being given would have been too much to retain.

You were granted information on grounds of various creatures both on land, underground, and the seas. Locations of gem and ore veins, from precious stones to mithril and orichalcum. You were granted locations of rare plants, some magical in nature, but all had their uses. Next, you were shown a network of leylines that ran throughout the undergrounds of the world of Velothia.

When your question of a system similar to the morphing grid was asked, the network of leylines was once again shown to you. Finding the transfer of knowledge to be much quicker than the world's slow speech, you were instead imparted with the idea that the leylines acted as a source of mana for those who knew of that knowledge and the ability to tap into it. At the same time, you felt an acceptance from the leylines themselves, and you somehow knew that if you were able to tap into a leyline source, you would be able to make use of the stored mana. Though it wasn't something that could transform you into a colorful warrior to fight evil, it was the closest match to what you had been thinking of.

[info]As this is Share More Than Words rather than the extended version of that which is Memory Copier, you will need to roll knowledge to access these memories. For each piece of trivia/knowledge, you want to know about, you'll need to roll a corresponding check that would match the best.[/info]

---

Mendernich - Cathedral
Day 17 - Early Evening

---

"News of some sort? I'd always be willing to lend an ear of course. But first, let me show you the brewery." Ragnar said as the two of you made your way deeper into the complex.

For as large the cathedral was, there weren't as many nuns and priests that you would have expected, though, a few did simply pause and nod at farther Barnabas whenever they neared. The stained windows all depicted each of the goddesses, with the exception of the Goddess of Water. And you also noted the fact that the Goddess of Light was shown most predominantly over the rest. Various torches were used to light up various halls, but nearing towards the bottom where the brewery turned lab was, you had noticed a shift of the lighting used to glowing gems.

"Glowing gems." Barnabas explained. "A passing trader sold them to me, and they are supposed to be powered by mana. It makes as a good light source and requires less maintenance than the torches."

Soon enough you made it to Ragnar's brewery. You noted that a table was set aside with a few alchemical supplies on top such as an alembic, crucible, vials, and other tools and materials. Apart from the table, you also noted the various barrels and a few distillers that looked like they were in use.

---

"You are not dying anytime soon I won't allow it," Amelia said with a firm finality lingering in her voice as she saw the far off look in her cat's eyes. Without saying a word she hoped that he would understand that she would throw herself in harm's ways again in a heartbeat if it meant he was kept safe.

"And I don't know about these other humans in these new memories, but those notions - you can toss right out. Because I'm more than happy to prove them wrong, and how capable I am, as often as you need, but you may not like it," she chuckled with a warm smile. She made sure to scratch him around the ears and pet him down the back in the way she knew he enjoyed even if he hated to admit it. She figured that in a moment like this having something physical, like touch, to ground him to this life - to her - would be helpful.

She continued to pet him for a moment silently before continuing quietly just for him to hear over the sounds of the bath, "As I said, I'll always be here for you. We'll work out whatever changes happen to us together as a team. So don't be afraid to share any of these new thoughts. I want to learn about what is happening to us."

She then loosened her hold on him just enough so that he could escape as needed even if she could sense that he was more comfortable with the idea of a bath than he had been even days before.

---

---

The sheer amount of information that filled her head at once, in less than a few moments, was dizzying. Eventually, as the world around her began to swim she had to brace herself on the side of the bath and then realizing she would have to do better to try and not lose her balance, she staggered her way entirely out of the bath to avoid falling and hurting herself.

She felt the blood rushing to her head and her cheeks flushing as the information refused to stop. However, just before the ordeal became overwhelming the moment was over. As she finally could breathe easily again Amelia slumped back onto the tile floor letting the chill from the bath set in as she put her hand to her heart feeling it beat.

She knew she should be writing notes at this moment but her brain was to scrambled to stay that organized. It was only the taste of copper running down the back of her throat that made her snap out of her stupor as she realized her nose was bleeding slightly.

"Thank you," she finally managed through the link. Those two words were the only thing she could even attempt to say, but those words did nothing to convey the sea of emotions she was feeling at that moment. Her only hope was that as she had gotten information from the planet, that the planet had also felt how deep her gratitude went for what the planet had done. Now mentally fried she could only keep the connection open for a few seconds longer before it dropped entirely.

Amelia needed some time to sort through everything she had just gained.

---

---

As her anticipation built as Ragnar lead her deeper and deeper into the church, and once she saw his personal lab the stress from earlier in the day melted away in a moment. She took in every detail that she possibly could, from the gem lights, to the casks, and the various bits of equipment It reminded her of her father's restoration workshop back home or a local brewery.

"Ragnar, I am very impressed," she giggled to herself, "this feels just like home. this is exactly what I needed."

"Look Nyx a proper workshop!" She exclaimed as she found a place off to the side where he could sit.

While looking around she felt tears welling up at the corner of her eyes as she could almost smell her father's cologne. Refusing to let those waterworks start, she wiped away the start of the tears and did her best to smile.

"Ragnar, do you mind giving me some help tonight? I'm a little shakey after everything today and I don't want to ruin anything you have here this really is perfect." She said her voice quaking despite her best effort as she grabbed Ragnar's hand and shook it in thanks and to ground herself.

After a moment of looking at Ragnar's hand, she looked him in the eye new tears there before letting go and going to the lab desk and began pulling out notes and various bits from her bag that she had gathered around the castle.

"I don't want to waste much time we should get started, all three of us!"

Going over her various notes she begins to discuss various bits with the two boys and discussing different things she needed to make. While she started to organize smaller projects she gave nyx some instructions on how she wanted him to test energy transfer with. If this world really was some kind of trial created by the gods, she knew they would need better equipment. The gamer in her knew that the key to any kind of exploration, grinding, or raids was to have a variety of equipment and consumables at hand.  In particular, things like potions, antidotes, or things that strengthen one's attacks like poisons, resins, or even things like grenades.

The only thing was that they didn't just spawn in a shop like a game. If they wanted anything to exist someone had to make it. So the only thing to do was apply the scientific method and hope for the best.

The first step was to decide what to make first, and only one thing came to mind. The one thing that was a cornerstone to all games in the modern age and was sacred regardless of the form it took, the healing item. More specifically the healing potion in their case, since they had brewing equipment on hand.

If the demon hordes had not even started in earnest then things were going to get bad on a biblical scale, and even the best defenses would fall with time. So they had to make sure every fighter could have a chance at survival. Even if they could recruit animals nyx had just told her someone in this world had the means to kill him. Numbers with no staying power therefore meant nothing.

Healing potions and the profit they held was the answer to a number of problems facing her at the moment. So all she had to do was, stay calm and channel all the scientists she read about. The Sally Ride's who went into space, the Alan Turing's who broke an unbreakable code machine.

Just start one step at a time.

Opening her notebook to a fresh page she wrote
Quickly while desperately looking around the room for anything that could help her.

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/333472635482669056/792901989716983808/011c9e83-853d-45a2-a0e8-cfbd7ed1d25c1.png)

[spoiler][/size]


Question :

is it possible to make an item that heals the user without them needing to know a method of healing or near someone who does?
           What form is the most optimal?
            How much and what can it actually heal?
            Will it expire?
            Side effects?
            Costs?
Can that process become renewable and mass-produced?


Background information
Various forms of medicine in this world but the only thing of substantial strength is rare healing magic like Nyx's recovery power.
   
Recover is the most versatile thing found yet, because it works on objects as well as people.
(More forms may fix more problems experiments needed)

We know that recover is light magic energy due to experimentation on the door at the sewers. (Door needs further study, something locked away? Possible tie to the six stewards )

We also know that Nyx is capable of manipulating some forms of similar energy with the energy transfer ability, i.e. people and candles and such

He can then give that energy to other living creatures or store it in certain objects

Specific nature of why certain mediums store energy and others do not unknown

Is mana tied to molecular or chemical structures or is it something vaguer like defined by the stewards

So far only things like people, things from dungeons, and items like my staff seem to work with possibly large amounts of energy loss.

Items do exist that use stored mana to create effects. See gem lights and staff. ( study gem lights and other projects while Nyx tests powers)


Hypothesis:

If we can find a medium that Nyx can store energy in that can be consumed, applied, or worn to cause an effect hopefully he can then also store healing in such a medium. (Note, the possible road to philosophy stone?)


Experiment : possible mediums

Test 1 -dungeon crystals
    success
    Unknown amount saved
     At time tiring
     Possible use as equipment

Test 2 - ordinary water
   fail

Test 3 - holy water
    linked to 6 goddesses?

Test 4 - alcohol
     produced by care by Ragnar perhaps his connection will make the difference

Test 5 -seeds (wheat and from alcohol making )
     Possibly count as a type of living creature
     Do possible healing plants exist? Check plants memory?[/spoiler]



As Amelia wrote more and more notes, talking things over with Ragnar and Nyx trying her best to distract herself from the pain building in her body from the tension of the day she let herself fall into the stability of the scientific method. She let it's structure help her compartmentalize what she could and could not confront, elevating some of her dread  of the unknown future.

After all, that was one of science's key roles, to allow people to interact and begin to comprehend that which is far too big for any one person to understand. Science brought with it the illusion of comfort and control no matter how small or short-lived she would revive herself with its methodology even if she failed at her goals. She let herself sink into that regimented, methodical thinking putting her fears in a box for a moment while her brain hyper-focused on the task at hand.

That being said, that didn't stop her from clinging onto both Nyx and Barnabus in turn, like a life preserver out in a dark ocean.


[info]
Notes
I have 5 hours of training left today
Goals
experiment with healing
Start to Learn alchemy
Make special fertilizer
Begin to make special booze
[/info]



[info]

As a result of Amelia wanting to feel in control of something small, and feel like she can actually help people with the problems she is facing by breaking them down into smaller bits, she will draw on her powers as a familiar subconsciously

Spending spirit to unlock  "Stats" extension naming Sage archetype to boost int and various skills to help nyx

Amelia task 1 learn from Ragnar the basic principles of alchemy and brewing.

Nyx's task 1-  test mediums to see if any can store energy holy water, alcohol, and seeds in that order

If a pop up appears for any he will spend spirit on them prioritizing seeds at

Ragnar- instruct Amelia and Nyx on alchemy and brewing, different mediums, and so on


Amelia will also tentatively try out the new memories looking for anything to do about healing plants with her modified int
[/info]

[okay]During the time that everything is explained and organized Amelia looks for an opening to tell Ragnar what she learned from the planet about the gods and goddesses. [/okay]

---

Everyone was silent. Matilda had proceeded to continue cleaning the animals. The animals themselves were quiet, perhaps unsure how to take what they just heard. While Nyx began to purr when you gave him pettings.

---

---

[info]Hero point earned for communication with the World.[/info]

---

---

"The brewery used to be a storage, at least before the good goddess decided to make me the head priest of the country." There was a hint of pride in his voice as he talked about the brewery underneath the cathedral. "As far as things under a cathedral, I would say this is on the plainer side. I've heard rumors that the church in the Xalaster Orthodoxy keeps a dungeon under theirs."

Ragnar softened when you began to show your vulnerable side, but when you began to go over the notes, Ragnar sensed the change and wholeheartedly began to help.

[info]Spending spirit to unlock  "Stats" extension naming Sage archetype to boost int and various skills to help Nyx.[/info]
You focused on Nyx, with imagining him becoming smarter or more knowledgeable. The red glow of Spirit then begun to engulf him.

[info]Amelia task 1 learn from Ragnar the basic principles of alchemy and brewing.

I'll need Training rolls for Amelia to learn Craft (alchemy) as a class skill. State how many rounds of Training you're doing and length, then roll the dice.[/info]

[info]Nyx's task 1-  test mediums to see if any can store energy holy water, alcohol, and seeds in that order[/info]
Nyx himself had Greater Mana Sensitivity, so he was able to report changes as he transferred mana into the various liquids through 《Energy Transfer》.

The holy water was able to retain mana.

The alcohol managed to retain some mana, though it wasn't nearly as bright as what was put into the holy water.

The seeds were able to retain some mana, though it wasn't nearly as bright as what was put into the holy water.

Through Nyx's Greater Mana Sensitivity, he was able to tell that both the seeds and the alcohol retained roughly the same amount of mana. As a test, Nyx was able to confirm that there was about a 90% loss of mana when transferring it into the alcohol or seeds. The holy water had a loss of about 50%. Either way, he felt that it was far from efficient compared to when he was transferring mana into the crystal from the Goblin Cave.

Since the goal was the creation of a healing potion, attempting to transfer his own life energy into it, or someone else's, Nyx received the 'Ability not yet unlocked' message. He did further 《Energy Transfer》 experiments as well. He tried to transfer the heat from the crucible, but received 'Ability not yet unlocked'. He had other ideas too, such as transferring the light from glowing gemstones. He was able to transfer the mana back and forth, but when he focused on the idea of 'light', he received 'Ability not yet unlocked'. Ever since training with Kurt and knowing about ki, he focused on the river within himself and tried to transfer it out, but received 'Ability not yet unlocked'. Lastly, as a joke, he focused in on Father Ragnar Barnabas' laid back personality and spoke the keyword for 《Energy Transfer》. His eyes grew wide at the experiment.

"Father Barnabas, forgive me for trying that... It didn't work. I received 'Ability not yet unlocked'. However..." Nyx then turned towards you. "I received a title 'Attempted Divinity'. This makes me think this blessing encapsulates more than I would have guessed. If the ability is not yet unlocked, it means it can be in the future right? Would that then transfer Ragnar's laid back attitude or some other quality of him? How is that even 'Energy'?"

"Laid-back energy perhaps?" Ragnar laughed, though the looks in his eyes told you he was relieved that the experiment didn't actually work.

Along with 《Energy Transfer》 experiments, he proceeded to do on his 《Restore》 ability. When a seed didn't have any mana in it, and he took a bite, of it, he was able to restore the missing portions. However, the moment he filled it with some mana through Energy Transfer, he was no longer able to use 《Restore》 on it. It only worked again, after he transferred the mana back out.

He also did some further tests on himself with 《Restore》 to get an idea of exactly how much it heals. He had also tried out other things with his ability. He ripped up a piece of parchment, and was able to restore it as expected. Next, grabbing a graphite pencil with his mouth, he made a simple mark, then erased it. He focused specifically on the erasure of the mark and triggered 《Restore》, to his surprise the mark he made came back as if he never erased it in the first place. He triggered 《Restore》 again, this time focusing in on the piece of parchment and the writing, and soon enough the mark he made with the pencil disappeared. As another test, he both ripped the piece of parchment, made a few scribbles, and erased a bit for good measure then triggered 《Restore》 without any clear direction. This ended up restoring the piece of parchment but leaving the contents as it was. He repeated the experiment and ripped the parchment again, and this time when he used 《Restore》 he was thinking about restoring the parchment to no longer be ripped, nor have any scribbles. This worked, though he noticed that more MP was used.

"Something I've already taken for granted, but it seems as if ability usage really is determined by one's will and expected results. Though it seems there is a 'default' use for the ability as well."

Nyx ended up being relatively thorough with his experimentation. However, as the hours went on, the red glow of Spirit began to fade away, and Nyx was running out of new ideas, not to mention he was running low on mana with all his testing even though he was using small amounts for each test.

[info]If you have any more follow-up experiments, feel free to state them. Since you used SP on Nyx, I had Nyx do some of his own experiments, but if you think of anything more that he can do, go ahead and state them and we'll have it covered for this set of experiments.[/info]

---

Mana Transfer

• Works with Crystals, 100% efficiency
• Works with Holy Water, 50% efficiency
• Works with Seeds, 10% efficiency

Life Transfer

• Recieving 'Ability not yet unlocked'

Heat Transfer

• Recieving 'Ability not yet unlocked'

Light Transfer

• Recieving 'Ability not yet unlocked'

'Laid-back energy' Transfer

• Recieving 'Ability not yet unlocked'

Restore on Beings

• 2 MP is 5 HP.

Restore on Things without Mana

• Works. Uses more MP for larger damage.

Restore on Things with Mana

• Recieving 'Ability not yet unlocked'

---

"The rules for my abilities are interesting... It doesn't seem to work with objects that require mana. But it does work with people that does have mana. At what point is an object a living thing that can be restored?"

---

[info]Do possible healing plants exist? Check plants memory?

Roll a Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (nature).[/info]

[info] two full 2 hour training checks for craft alchemy

Attempt 1
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 4 + 10, total 14[/blockquote]

Attempt 2
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 7 + 10, total 17[/blockquote]

[/info]

[info] Crafting magic fertilizer will spend however much mana

Attempt 1
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 16 + 13, total 29[/blockquote]

[/info]

[info]knowledge checks with sage blessing


Nature for healing plants
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+19 : 14 + 19, total 33[/blockquote]

Geography for location of leylines

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+19 : 17 + 19, total 36[/blockquote]

[/info]

[info]If possible I would also like Nyx's help with the training [/info]

---

[info]Jump to side thread to see Nyx's response to the conversation [Nyx] CH 18.1 Silent Guard Duty (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/index.php?topic=2171.msg24879;topicseen#msg24879)[/info]

---

---

Amelia tried her best to focus as Ragnar taught her the various in and outs of alchemy, and yet despite both of their best efforts most of what he said just refused to stick. Her mind was still too busy sorting through what had happened in the bath earlier in the day and apparently, she had reached her limits.

"I'm sorry Father Barnabas, but I really struggling to pay attention," she said as her face flushed and she rubbed the bridge of her nose annoyed at herself. "I asked you to put all this together, and yet I feel like I'm just wasting everyone's time, real responsible of me I know."

She pushed back from her seat, doing her best to stretch to try and get the blood to flow to her head, in a hope that more blood would somehow rid her of the building exhaustion. She had to juggle too many balls at once, and if she dropped even one of them she feared what the consequences could be.

Yet she knew holding everything in and trying to organize her thoughts on her own would take far too much time and effort and would lead to her causing equal amounts of damage in the long run. Looking around the room again she could tell Nyx was doing his best to support her as well with his various experiments. She needed to get her head back in the game and soon or she would be simply wasting all their goodwill.

Sitting back down at the desk with a dejected thud as she dramatically puffed out her cheeks in a mild pout. Closing her eyes she took a moment to inhale then exhale before looking at the two of them.

"Do you mind if I unload somethings on you both?" Amelia asked before settling into a full explanation of what she had done in the bath to communicate with the planet.

"So, it turns out," she said midway through, "that there are a little less than 500 unique deities that have a hand in this world. So there's that-"

The entire time she rambled about her experience she made sure to watch Ragnar for any visible reaction to any of the bombs she was going to drop.

"These 500 deities seem to be unified and organized by six elemental deities at least that's what the planet said, and they seem to generally fit with the various myths of the gods from your church and the churches of the other nations." She paused.

"If my hunch is right, then that would explain why the nations were chosen for the Shifting in the first place. They chose kingdoms with strong beliefs in their unified power to be apart of this project. If the planet is correct then the real threat and the reason all the heroes are here is even yet to begin." Her words hung heavily in the air.

"So many nations have already fallen: Thyra's home, The Elves, the kingdom of mages, the kingdom of beasts," Amelia paused looking at Nyx.

"And it's only been the overture. What will happen to this world once the show really begins in earnest? Felencorp isn't wrong, but I don't think simple strength will be enough. We need to get creative at the very least." She said ending with her head in her hands as she tried to organize her thoughts and poke at what the planet had gifted her for clues.

"The planet gave me a lot of information, and that book that changed as soon as I arrived but I don't know what that gets us yet. Ragnar, your the head priest and really the only one who might be able to figure this stuff out with the help of the others. But I just feel like every time I take a step forward I fall into another pit trap." She said looking up with a weak smile.

"I'm afraid I'll just be a burden when things get bad, but I refuse to give up if only out of spite. The planet did give me names for the elemental gods, if those names are recognized in the world maybe they will be useful for channeling their power with your prayers?"

"I don't know if that helps at all but from what Conrad said perception is important so I figured you might be able to use these old names as a means of drawing out more power because a name is more solid- I don't know I was grasping at straws. I know you said that the goddess in your faith don't have names but I was hoping you could test it" she said watching Father Barnabas for a reaction.

"The names were:
Anema, for the goddess of Air
Pyra, for the goddess of  Fire
Hydrea, for the goddess of  Water
Gea, for the goddess of  Earth
Caliga, for the goddess of  Darkness
Luxa, for the goddess of  Light"

"Maybe try blessing your alcohol with a prayer to Luxa? Or maybe try a random thought and try a god of alcohol like Dionysus? He is a god of alcohol and I feel like he would favor you. That is assuming that book holds weight. Or hell if there is 500 why not pray for both of them?" Amelia said as she pulled random thoughts from her mind.

"We can have Nyx fill it with mana first so that it's the most powerful that something might happen." Nodding at Nyx to begin to fill at least slightly the alcohol with some of his mana. She hoped that if he did take this information poorly shifting her ideas to focus on his booze would soften the edges. She was afraid of so much happening that was out of her control and she didn't want to lose the father because she had done something that possibly put his faith at risk. She knew he was laid back and willing to reform but this would be a real test to see how far he was going to follow her lead.

"I wouldn't do all of it just enough so you notice a color change." With that off her chest, she finally sat back in the chair. But now came the hard part she had zero idea how Father Barnabas would take this all.

---

With Ragnar's aid, you were able to get some progress done in learning about alchemical creations. Ragnar had even shown how some things were created. You felt that without his help, you would not have had any success at all.

[info]Craft (alchemy) Training: 2/8[/info]
[info]You spend an hour creating the fertilizer. With both the alchemical materials before you, along with your infusion of mana, were able to make it.

https://www.aonprd.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Instant%20fertilizer[/info]
[info]Knowledge (nature) on healing plants: 33
From the burst of information that you were shown through your link with the world, you realized that there was indeed something that was once called 'Mage's Gift'. This particular flower dripped a continuous supply of mana-infused liquid that puddle around it. Unlike most plants, the Mage's Gift used mana itself to grow, and treated it as nutrients. It continually gathered mana from the environment, with the excess mana being turned into liquid. The liquid, when consumed, had a double effect of both healing wounds and restoring mana to the user.[/info]
[info]Knowledge (geography) on ley-line locations
There were many leylines, however, there were specific large leylines throughout the world. One of them directly passed through Mendernich.[/info]

[info]make request on Ragnar [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 19 + 14, total 33[/blockquote][/info]

---

Ragnar Barnabas listened intently as you described what you had learned from your link with Velothia.

"If indeed Luxa is the name of the Goddess of Light, such information was never written down on anything, even the other churches refer to the goddesses as the goddesses. However... that sort of common knowledge doesn't extend to everyone. For example, you, Amelia, or even other heroes that roam this world. Many of them come from worlds with no goddesses. From what we've found, many of the cities, towns, and villages that come through in the Shifting all have a common link between; that they have at least one of the goddesses as worshipped beings. Many times the only sole like we have with other countries is due to our shared faith in the Goddess of Light."

"But anyways, a prayer to a god named Dionysus..." Ragnar repeated as he had a far-off look in his eyes. "I must admit that the idea would normally have been absurd. A priest of the Goddess of Light to offer prayers to another deity, one not even of the pantheon that this nation believes in. However..." He paused for a moment, but remained silent as he simply began to take care of some of the alchemical materials to be used in the training. From the way he looked deeply at nothing in particular, told you that he was considering something.

[info]Diplomacy (make request): 34[/info]
"However... If the Goddess did send you here to this country, to meet with perhaps the only Head Priest willing to throw the rules out the window, then perhaps the Goddess did indeed decide that even this is passable." Father Barnabas finally said.

"Very well, let's try it." Ragnar said with a grin.

"Energy transfer!" Nyx repeated his keyword taking Ragnar's positive reaction as the cue to transfer the mana. You felt your own mana drain, and you saw it fill one of the bottles of alcohol that Ragnar kept within reach.

Ragnar nodded a silent thanks towards Nyx, but then picked up the bottle and stared at it for a moment.

"Hmm... Just a thought from how I've seen magic work so far... Father, try using your mana, and state the prayer as you would a spell... Since I've been spending all this time experiment with my own blessings, we might as well try this too." Nyx suggested.

"Will do, man." Ragnar said before pausing, "That is... King of Beasts." Ragnar corrected himself only for Nyx to laugh warmly.

"Fear not, you are one of the chosen few of Amelia's."

Ragnar flashed a final grin towards the cat, but eventually focused on the bottle as he closed his eyes. It was silent for a few moments, but then he frowned.

"Normally... when casting a spell, the words come into my mind on what to say for the particular effect I want to do... But nothing really comes to mind for this. I could still half-ass it though if that's your jam."

Nyx nodded, though he looked towards you as well, to see if you had any further thoughts or suggestions before the priest continued.

---

Amelia took a moment to think tapping her finger on the table as she took in Ragnar's words and looked at the two men looking for her input. She wondered if this is what it felt like to have older siblings. That thought Suddenly sent a chill down her spine as images of her younger brother and her parents filled her mind again.

Almost on instinct, she went to take Ragnar's hand, " Why don't you ask him to fortify and strengthen your body and soul with this wine? He is a very human god after all who represents freedom and other-"

She paused for a moment, "Phyiscal past times. So if there is one thing he could do it would be empowering a good drink."

"-But I think you should make sure to say that he is working as the companion of the goddess of light. I also think we should say it together. Just in case so that I can help with any mana costs," Amelia said with a smile to try and disguise her nerves.

---

When Amelia stood to join hands with Father Barnabas to begin praying to both gods and see what came of it, Nyx was left to watch them from a distance. However, from his position, something caught his eye - the staff on Amelia's hip. Perhaps it was this place, but ever since they started testing tonight, Nyx had felt his curiosity growing far more active than usual, and while the strange stick had never caught his interest before - at the moment a thought occurred in the back of his head.

It was the only blessing he had ever really seen with a physical form to it, and an object no less. Considering that his Restore power specifically could target objects, was there anything he could do with his power to affect Amelia to be stronger? He did have that new extension that he had yet to mention to anyone called 'Magic Mender'. He remembered Amelia's family in their old world, even if it seemed distant in his memory, dealing with old objects and restoring them to make them more valuable.

If he could restore the staff to a state where it had its full powers unlocked, like stripping the age off of an antique painting to reveal the color underneath that would be a huge boon.

While the two humans were distracted with their own work, Nyx took this opportunity to indulge his curiosity further. Targeting the staff at Amelia's hip he whispered "Restore!" with a clear image in his mind, of his time, watching the antique store.

His hope was that his power could be a key to a very complicated set of locks while keeping everything Amelia had done intact.

---

After looking over Amelia Nyx turned his attention to Ragnar, he was a few years older than Amelia, and yet he was on par with her physically. A new thought crossed his mind at that realization. What if he could give back time to people like he did objects? However, after a moment of thought, he shook his head. If Ragnar was uncomfortable with the idea of his energy being temporarily taken he probably wouldn't like the idea of suddenly becoming younger. Not everyone could have the courage of a proud beast he supposed.

Though there was a certain aging trainer he could probably test the theory on later. However, was there something he could test on Ragnar now that was less drastic, something to make people stronger? Thinking back he thought about he was growing physically over time and how Amelia had changed in the years he had known her. The word puberty came to his mind.

The chemicals and hormones that made any being bigger and stronger were the most present during that stage of puberty. Could he use his powers to make Ragnar go through a second puberty without changing his age?

Maybe by restoring the chemicals and hormones in his body to start his growth again he reasoned. And if he was lucky he could test it on a few people and see how they were affected over time. After all, if something got out of hand he could just revert it later.

Focusing on restoring the growth and other effects of puberty in the older man with a little smirk he said "Restore!" in a whisper.

[info]attempted casting with Barnabas

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 5 + 11, total 16[/blockquote][/info]

[info]Refill with 1 hero point
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 2 + 11, total 13[/blockquote][/info]

---

Ragnar Barnabas listened to the suggestions intently. In the middle of it, he had pulled out a notebook, and a pen, and began to write some notes down.

"How about this?" Ragnar said as he handed the notebook to you. Written in Ragnar's scrawl:

Oh Dionysus, companion of the goddess: Fortify soul, strengthen body, 《Good Drink》!

---

[info]Restore of Staff's Original Abilities
Ability not yet unlocked.[/info]

---

[info]Restore of Growth/Puberty
Ability not yet unlocked.[/info]

Looks good to me! Amelia said with a nod as she tried her best to help with the spell.

Out of the corner she could hear Nyx let out a sigh of quiet frustration but nothing seemed to come of it, so she decided it was best to let that lie for now while she and Ragnar did their work.

---

Together with father Barnabas, all three of you began to chant the words that was agreed on.

"Oh Dionysus, companion of the goddess: Fortify soul, strengthen body, 《Good Drink》!"

Even though you chanted along with the other two, you yourself haven't learned how to make use of the mana in you, but you did your best from your brief training with Conrad.

"Hmm... It's glowing with mana... But faint." Nyx stated as he looked at the drink. There was an unspoken truth to those words. After all, it was common knowledge that something devoid of mana, only to be full of it again, apart from Nyx's own 《Energy Transfer》, occurred primarily through magic and spells in this world.

"The mana looks more complex than simply using my 《Energy Transfer》 to fill it with mana."

There was an audible silence.

"So, it worked?" Ragnar finally asked.

---

"From my experience, channeling mana is annoyingly difficult," Amelia said grossly as she thought back to her training with Conrad, "Working with a new relationship of your deity system just makes that even more difficult."


Amelia took an empty cup from the side of the research table as she spoke, " However, Nyx said there is magic in there so it's magic now. As to if it worked as we wanted it to-

We only have one choice."

With one swift motion, she dipped the cup into the liquid and held it up to the two boys in a cheers motion before taking a sip.

The drink tasted strong, as what would be expected with the kind of alcohol father Ragnar Barnabas kept with him. Though you yourself weren't a heavy drinker, it was palatable and went down smoothly. You thought you tasted a hint of ginger ale, but all of a sudden that flavor reverted back to the strong alcoholic taste.

Seeing your actions, Ragnar himself took another cup and poured a small bit into it, and sipped it as well.

"It tastes pretty darn good- Wait... Hmm well it does defintely taste a bit better... But I honestly can't tell if actually is better, or simply due to expectation of it being better. You catch my drift, yeah?"

"Interesting... the weave of mana continually reverted from complex to simple... Now, however, it looks completely devoid of any mana or of magic."

---

"The magic didn't stick - at least not fully," Amelia said with a heavy sigh.  She placed down the cup down on the work table hard as she ran her free hand through her hair in frustration. They had learned a fair amount tonight, but whenever they tried to do anything they just continued to hit failure after failure. To call it disheartening was an understatement. Her own frustrations left an even more bitter after-taste in her mouth than the drink did.

"We got close though, even if it is like a broken sauce maybe we just need to change the way we mix it. After all, it is pretty late and we're trying something new. I was really hoping we could make something that we could use to help people and something you would like Barnabas. If only I could actually learn to manipulate my own mana maybe I could have helped. Do you think this is something you could keep working on in your free time? If we can get this to work I really think it could be a huge boon both in the product and academically speaking," She leaned over the work table jotting down the last of her notes and thoughts before the strain from working in this dim light made itself known.

"That being said, I can't do much more if I let myself get exhausted we should go back to the castle before someone gets worried."

Taking this last failure as a sign that she should pack up and leave she took a folded note from her notebook and slid it under the cup she had used where she thought the priest would find it before packing up and getting ready to leave.

---

---

Getting back to her room in the castle from the church at that hour always seemed to take longer than it did during the day. By the time she turned on the small oil lamp on her side table for a little light the exhaustion from the day had truly begun to settle into her bones. Taking the time to change into her pajamas with the help of the folding screen that Mati had provided for her she wrapped herself in the feeling of home.

It would have been even better if she could have somehow maintained the familiar smell that her parents often used. They had happened to find the same brand during their trip to Germany and having that comforting sent seemed to have brightened everyone's experience. However, between the amount of time spent in this other world and the amount of her own blood that had been forcibly scrubbed out from her arrival any hope of that sent surviving with her was long gone.

She heard Nyx jump up on the bed with a louder thump then usual and as she came out from finishing changing she saw that he had grown back to his new size. Taking the opportunity to join him, she literally threw herself on the bed and wrapped around her new companion.

"You are teddy bear sized this way." Amelia said with a smile as she could feel her eye lids already start to droop.

"I know you are gonna go out hunting later do you mind staying with me a bit first. I just don't want to be alone right now. There just never feels like enough time in the day," She said already half asleep.

"If only I could keep doing work in my dreams then I could see home again while I was at it." She said opening friend's list half hoping to see one of her family or friends names before drifting off.

[info]As a result of Amelia's desires to have more time and be able to sleep Amelia will unconsciously activate Friend's list using SP to enter and share Nyx's dream dimension similar to the the Dream Travel spell.

I will be setting the time scale of the dream to give me as much time in the dream per minute in the real world as you will allow due to Amelia's failures and both desires to grow but feeling like they need more time.[/info]

[info]Requested d100

[blockquote]Rolled 1d100 : 59, total 59[/blockquote]
[/info]

---

You began to drift asleep, with Nyx nuzzled against you. You were thinking of Nyx, and of your friends you've met since. You vaguely recall seeing the friend's list in your mind's eye. You wished for more time, you thought about all the events that had transpired that day. Though soon enough, eventually the unconsciousness of sleep overtook you.

[info]Continue to Chapter 19: Dreams of the Past (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/index.php?topic=2176.msg25281#msg25281)[/info]