vithian-scaleseeker

[vithian-scaleseeker]

(ooc; sorry I reblogged on my main blog and then deleted it without realising you'd replied. And now this rb is orphaned. Whoops)

...I revoke my fascination, and sympathize with your revulsion. Such creatures seem more like the product of the night-mares that take their shapes based upon fears within one's mind, than they do a real living creature.

I have been watching over the Riveteers while they have been repairing the tracks, in case more outlaws appear to bother them. Unfortunately one of them brought one of those.. reptilian horse creatures. While most creatures bring me a sense of joy, particularly normal horses, those... Beasts make me uncomfortable. It has already tried to bite me, and it was only through my grace and level head I did not smite it. They owner also asked me kindly not to.

I am avoiding the creature for now, but know the peace between us is tenuous.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

...Perhaps you should read what you have written, and reconsider the subject at hand.

What I mean to say is, if memory-eating lizards did exist, that would provide a handy explanation for why you would *not* remember hearing of them.

Success!

Warily, I have conducted experimentation upon the Dimir artifact I looted, and slowly but surely, I have managed to cast the spell stored within. I dared not channel black magic myself, but the trinket's own power proved sufficient for that component of the spell, and...

The trinket itself transformed into a... creature. It is something like a lizard, and something like a sea monster, of the sort we have on Grixis. In that the details of its form escape both description and mental retention. But it certainly had... lizard-like qualities of some sort... I think.

...and... it seems I have forgotten what I was going to say next. Concerning.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

I doubt it was truly a lizard, it only took the shape of one. Perhaps by design, perhaps it drew the image from my own thoughts as its summoner... or perhaps it accessed the primal fears of humanity, among which reptiles are known to dwell?

I think I must summon it again, and take notes to paper, to see if its effect extends beyond merely my thoughts. Would that I had the ironclad memory of a sphinx such as yourself at my disposal, information erasures would be little issue. But this is not my first encounter with horrors that drain minds, and this one is under my control, at least nominally.

Success!

Warily, I have conducted experimentation upon the Dimir artifact I looted, and slowly but surely, I have managed to cast the spell stored within. I dared not channel black magic myself, but the trinket's own power proved sufficient for that component of the spell, and...

The trinket itself transformed into a... creature. It is something like a lizard, and something like a sea monster, of the sort we have on Grixis. In that the details of its form escape both description and mental retention. But it certainly had... lizard-like qualities of some sort... I think.

...and... it seems I have forgotten what I was going to say next. Concerning.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

Success!

Warily, I have conducted experimentation upon the Dimir artifact I looted, and slowly but surely, I have managed to cast the spell stored within. I dared not channel black magic myself, but the trinket's own power proved sufficient for that component of the spell, and...

The trinket itself transformed into a... creature. It is something like a lizard, and something like a sea monster, of the sort we have on Grixis. In that the details of its form escape both description and mental retention. But it certainly had... lizard-like qualities of some sort... I think.

...and... it seems I have forgotten what I was going to say next. Concerning.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

There is a ridge, south of the Olxor Boneheap, near what is now Maelstrom territory, where the earth rises and the sky bends down to meet it. It is very often heavily raining there, and the water comes down the cliffs with chaotic force, that the mountain never quite looks the same each time I visit.

And then, if you perch yourself on the right ruin, you can see where those same rapids twist together into a meandering stream, and within that same eye, meet a lake, although I would not call it a calm one. By a quirk of the geography and hydrology involved, this lake turns, the river swirling in a grand vortex that has spun for as long as anyone has witnessed and recorded.

Those falls, that lake, are my strongest mana bond by far. Even together with the clouds above, they form a single space in my mind's eye, a microcosm of time's flow from a nebulous future into the fathomless past. Other mages find it strange how I draw red mana from water, or how both red and blue can come from one place. But to me there is little difference, what may be and what has been form an infinite torrent, and I only have the strength and skill to avoid being dashed upon the shore.

mages who have blogs- what color(s) of mana does everyone work with? I learned to draw white mana as a kid, and then I've been told that I also have potential to draw the red.

I have no idea where I'd learn that or what I'd do with it, though! We don't have red mana where I come from.

I mean, uh, what I meant to say is... we don't have a lot of mages who work with red mana where I come from, so I've never thought about finding a teacher. Yeah!

Also, where's everyone's favorite place to pull from? I like the flower gardens in Selesnya territory. Acres and acres and acres of just hills and sunshine.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

...I think I am going to take this as a sign.

Embers endure.

...perhaps, even, embers scatter to the winds and yet spark new fires among fresh kindling.

EXPLORE

Hey, it's Kathera!!! As you may be aware already, I really like climbing, exploring, and all that, it's fun!!

Recently, I went to explore one of the most unknown parts of the Ixalan jungles for us Merfolks, and it was a great experience!! I ate a fruit I had never eater before and it tasted great, I'm absolutely going there again. So yeah, exploring is awesome, even in water, which I'm not a huge fan of!! Just recently I saw a very pretty fish, and that was awesome!!! If you have some free time, you should really explore your plain, or heck, maybe even explore other plains now that Omenpahts or whatever are a thing!!! EXPLORE!!!!!

[vithian-scaleseeker]

Black mana is what I am concerned about. Unlike you Esperites, we on Bant, at least the Vithians, do not align with the prevailing mana of the shard, for it fuels ambition and perseverence at the steep cost of corruption and death to us. I wield red and blue and never any other, lest it bring corruption and death to myself, and those around me.

There is undoubtedly a mix of mana in the artifact, which is the only reason I wonder if its insights may be worth the risk. That the black and blue bind so closely as to be nearly inseparable, however, seems only to me to prove that the darkness pervades into anything it can reach.

If there is any markings upon the trinket other than that of the guild, I cannot distinguish them from the design of the metal itself. I would guess it to be a steel-based alloy, but without much confidence. The mana seems to keep it uncomfortably cool no matter how long it is held in the warmth of my grip.

Magic that heals and grows, protects and unifies, still feels like an unnatural concept to me, even all these years later. I have scarcely seen it cast, let alone learned to channel it myself. Perhaps some future day I shall report to you on my attempts, in exchange for your insight here and now.

Ravnicans of the network; do House Dimir consort with dark forces?

I looted a trinket of theirs from the structure-wreck, and in trying to cast the spell within, I learnt it can be a source of mana as well. But the power that it creates is... cold. Alien. Empty, like a dreamless sleep.

Part of that feeling may be that it is spellcraft from a plane unfamiliar to me. But it has an undeniable similarity to the dark forces of my world, which I have spent my life trying to ward off and evade. Demons, lich-lords, bone-hoarding kathari and withering specters.

I should like to know more about its origins and the House that crafted it before I decide whether to make use of it or abandon it in the next acid lake I pass.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

In a city that spans the plane, I suppose even specters and shades must be bound to service. I imagine it impossible to erase their like from the world completely; better harnessed than loosed to cause despair and dementia.

...yet to wield the power of such beings, or power like it... my instincts scream that such paths are better left untrodden. Is there not a risk that they use the House, as much as the House uses them?

Ravnicans of the network; do House Dimir consort with dark forces?

I looted a trinket of theirs from the structure-wreck, and in trying to cast the spell within, I learnt it can be a source of mana as well. But the power that it creates is... cold. Alien. Empty, like a dreamless sleep.

Part of that feeling may be that it is spellcraft from a plane unfamiliar to me. But it has an undeniable similarity to the dark forces of my world, which I have spent my life trying to ward off and evade. Demons, lich-lords, bone-hoarding kathari and withering specters.

I should like to know more about its origins and the House that crafted it before I decide whether to make use of it or abandon it in the next acid lake I pass.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

Not malicious in a conscious manner, perhaps not even unnatural, but mana can be dangerous. Unhealthy. Spells that withering the caster's flesh and soul until naught is left of a mage but a twisted hunger to see their will enacted at the expense of all else. I have heard of, and seen, the results of such dabbling in the dark energy of my plane more times than I wish to recall.

Mana may be only energy, but it connects a mage to all things, and in all things there are all manners of threats and dangers. I wish not to expose myself to the self-same darkness that has plagued my plane for generations. Call it superstition or misconception, I know it as the wisdom of survival.

Darkness declines, and brings brighter things down with it. Do not dare deny that.

Ravnicans of the network; do House Dimir consort with dark forces?

I looted a trinket of theirs from the structure-wreck, and in trying to cast the spell within, I learnt it can be a source of mana as well. But the power that it creates is... cold. Alien. Empty, like a dreamless sleep.

Part of that feeling may be that it is spellcraft from a plane unfamiliar to me. But it has an undeniable similarity to the dark forces of my world, which I have spent my life trying to ward off and evade. Demons, lich-lords, bone-hoarding kathari and withering specters.

I should like to know more about its origins and the House that crafted it before I decide whether to make use of it or abandon it in the next acid lake I pass.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

Ravnicans of the network; do House Dimir consort with dark forces?

I looted a trinket of theirs from the structure-wreck, and in trying to cast the spell within, I learnt it can be a source of mana as well. But the power that it creates is... cold. Alien. Empty, like a dreamless sleep.

Part of that feeling may be that it is spellcraft from a plane unfamiliar to me. But it has an undeniable similarity to the dark forces of my world, which I have spent my life trying to ward off and evade. Demons, lich-lords, bone-hoarding kathari and withering specters.

I should like to know more about its origins and the House that crafted it before I decide whether to make use of it or abandon it in the next acid lake I pass.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

The... er, clasp, is well-informed.

If they commanded zombies, they were no true Vithian. Those who succumb to dark temptations and become necromancers have clearly abandoned the path to restoring the old kingdom. That they would travel to your world to defile it with their undead mocks what it means to endure the darkness as my people do.

I know little of zombies beyond Grixis, but the ones here have been known to tear themselves apart to escape restraints and, even when they are returned to death, the magic that animates them can give them a final, unpredictable surge of strength. Be wary of any zombie corpses that you have not burned or hacked to pieces.

Darkness declines.

What is a Vithian? I feel like I've heard this somewhere. A necromancer was caught recently who claimed to be one, and their zombies are unlike anything I've ever seen. They're almost... angrier. More like a feral vampire. But still rotting.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

...from what little I know of you, Nettleflower, you do seem like the sort to know your illusions. hmm. impressive indeed, perhaps I have underestimated him. I certainly couldn't pull a time magic stunt like that without considerable preparation.

perhaps more importantly, 'planeswalker war'?! so casually mentioned, it opens my eyes to just how much history exists that I have hardly even known I did not know.

I've had more than one person, upon hearing my powers, compare me to one 'Teferi Akosa'. Has anyone else heard of this man? He is allegedly a planeswalker and a time mage, whose feats strain credulity. I would sooner believe him a powerful illusionist than accept that he has cast even half of the spells that rumours have alleged.

Not to condemn such behaviour, for the stories tell he has used his magic for the good of many. Cultivating such a wondrous reputation must serve him well, even if it bends the truth somewhat.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

I've had more than one person, upon hearing my powers, compare me to one 'Teferi Akosa'. Has anyone else heard of this man? He is allegedly a planeswalker and a time mage, whose feats strain credulity. I would sooner believe him a powerful illusionist than accept that he has cast even half of the spells that rumours have alleged.

Not to condemn such behaviour, for the stories tell he has used his magic for the good of many. Cultivating such a wondrous reputation must serve him well, even if it bends the truth somewhat.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

They sound like magnificent specimens. I should like to have sight of one sometime. Gaining experience with planar travel is rapidly ascending in my list of priorities. And then I may accept your offer. What do you want in return?

AWEEK

One day, when I was climbing on a tree with some of my friends and playing one of my favoruite games, 'guess the dreadmaw' (it's super fun, but only can play it in Ixalan I think (if there are dreadmaws somewhere else please tell me NOW)), and one of them said that time went super fast sometimes, but I said 'that doesn't make sense, time goes at time speed!' But now, I realised I have been a whole week without saying anything here, and that's not good! SO I WILL SAY SOMETHING HERE! Like that thing I just said! That's a cool thing! Oh, and let me recommend you guys to play 'guess the dreadmaw' next time you guys come into Ixalan, it's super fun! Just make sure to keep a good distance, dreadmaws aren't famous for how respectful with tourists they are.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

What is a 'dreadmaw'? I know of many creatures on my plane, that are dreadful and have maws. And that have dreadful maws. So it's possible we have them here as well. Is it a kind of drake or dragon?

AWEEK

One day, when I was climbing on a tree with some of my friends and playing one of my favoruite games, 'guess the dreadmaw' (it's super fun, but only can play it in Ixalan I think (if there are dreadmaws somewhere else please tell me NOW)), and one of them said that time went super fast sometimes, but I said 'that doesn't make sense, time goes at time speed!' But now, I realised I have been a whole week without saying anything here, and that's not good! SO I WILL SAY SOMETHING HERE! Like that thing I just said! That's a cool thing! Oh, and let me recommend you guys to play 'guess the dreadmaw' next time you guys come into Ixalan, it's super fun! Just make sure to keep a good distance, dreadmaws aren't famous for how respectful with tourists they are.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

"What's in your OC's pockets / bag?" type of post, but it's a handful of magic the gathering spells.

[vithian-scaleseeker]

Just almost passed out trying not to laugh seeing how they did Niv-Mizzet in the political cartoon in the Tenth District Times today. SPOT ON caricature and cadence. Apologies to the guy next to me who thought i was choking. :)