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Chapter 366 - Paths are more Straightforward
🕑 Added 2022-05-18 22:47:09 +0000 UTCEnjoy!
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Serenity tried to move, but every time he did, both bodies moved. After enough trial and error, he managed to get both to their feet, but only after he’d managed to get them both in the same position on the floor.
He tried to take a step forward. The first step worked, but when he reached out to grab the door handle, he punched himself in the back. There was no way he was going to manage to get anywhere quickly like this.
Even if he could, he didn’t want to.
What else could he do? Serenity pulled up the skill description again.
Multiform
You may assume the shape of any Form you know. All Forms reflect yourself and all Forms are reflected in some manner in your Chimera Form. Detailed control of Forms increases with familiarity. Any Forms above the minimum require a continual maintenance cost of both Mana and Essence. Minimum number of Forms: 2. Maximum number of Forms: 4. Forms may be repeated.
Forms passively return to their normal condition.
Current known forms: Chimera, Hatchling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Armor, Sterath(?)
Forms may be repeated. That had to be what he was doing now. What if he didn’t repeat the Form? Could he manage, say, Chimera and Human? Not that he’d be any better coordinated then. How about Chimera and Crystal Hilt or Chimera and Armor?
He was already wearing armor. Crystal Hilt, then.
Serenity concentrated on Multiform and selected Crystal Hilt. It worked.
Well, mostly.
He was still in both locations; he could tell that because each of the hilts could see using Eyeless Sight and they could each see the other Crystal Hilt.
Oops.
Serenity concentrated again. Chimera and Crystal Hilt. Both of them. He had the mental image of himself as a chimera holding the hilt; it was an easy way to push that he wanted both Forms.
He ended up in four locations - two Chimera, two Crystal Hilts. Each Chimera had a hand on a Crystal Hilt, just like in his mental image.
Well, that wasn’t exactly as intended. Serenity tried not to move as he tried again. One chimera and one Crystal Hilt. Maybe not touching? If that mattered?
This time when Serenity opened his eyes, only one pair of eyes opened. That was better. He could still see through Eyeless Sight from the Crystal Hilt, but the only action the Hilt could take was managing the blade, and that wasn’t easily confused with normal movement. He picked himself up and confidently walked out of the workroom.
There was one question this entire experience answered, at least: he was never going to Evolve in front of anyone he didn’t trust or without sufficient time.
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When Serenity reached their house, he found Rissa waiting for him. “All done? Wait, why are you carrying a … is that a sword hilt?”
“Evolution’s done. Pathing isn’t. It went … strangely. Let me tell you all about it…”
Rissa had a hard time controlling her laughter as he described the issues he’d had with multiform. Serenity was simply grateful she didn’t insist on seeing him try. “So how’s Rube?”
Rissa shrugged. “We have him lying on a spare bed Aki made for us. Other than that, no change.”
Serenity nodded then levered himself up off the couch. That was about what he’d expected for as long as he’d been gone. “I think I’ll lay down on the bed while I Path up, just in case.”
“Taking the sword with you?”
Serenity looked down to where he’d grabbed the hilt without thinking about it as he stood. “Probably should, just in case. I guess I need to get something to use to carry it. I’m not sure how putting it in the Quick Belt will feel. Not sure I want to try.”
The hilt didn’t need to breathe, so it might be all right, but Serenity still wasn’t sure about trying.
“I’ll let Janice know. And good luck, dear.” Rissa touched Serenity’s shoulder before turning away.
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[Species Path not selected for Sovereign of Potential. Select Species Path?]
Serenity would have chuckled if he could have. That was the only way forward; saying No would simply kick him out of Tiering up.
Yes
[Options available for Sovereign of Potential:]
[Join As One]
[Lord of Many]
[Hive Master]
[Embryonic Overlord]
…
Are there any of these that don’t specifically have to do with being a Lord in some way? Or some sort of Hive thing?
[At the end of the list]
…
[Overachiever]
[Summoner]
[Creator]
[Purifier]
[Voice of the Origin]
[Wandering Star]
[Field of Potential]
[Giver of Gifts]
[Origin’s Potential]
Overachiever looked like the sort of Path Serenity thought of as a trap - relatively powerful and general, but likely to be extremely difficult to level, since you’d have to overachieve to progress. Worth it to people inclined that way, but not for Serenity.
He easily discarded Voice of the Origin; he wasn’t going to be anyone’s voice, not even the Origin’s. He was his own voice. Summoner was just as easy. Creator was tempting, but any Path that involved creating things was likely to need at least some level or art or crafting skill, so that one had to go as well.
The other five were harder. Origin’s Potential had the most appealing name, but it was still vague as anything. He almost tossed Purifier and Giver of Gifts, but they were both vague enough he figured he’d better see the descriptions first.
Show me Purifier, Wandering Star, Field of Potential, Giver of Gifts, and Origin’s Potential, please.
Purifier
We are all pieces of the Origin. Scattered shards of beauty, shining in emptiness. Some shards have chosen to become brighter by stealing the Potential gifted to others; a Purifier restores the balance, cleansing the stolen Potential and restoring it to the ones who lost it or releasing it back to the Origin.
Ugh. That sounded uncomfortably dogmatic to Serenity. It would probably work well against creatures like the djinn and might even be able to help Rube, but Serenity wasn’t sure it actually fit him well.
Wandering Star
As you travel, you take your light with you, shining on those who gather to see your light. Aimless or directed, it does not matter; come close for the light but be wary of reaching into the heart of the fire.
While that was better, it still didn’t call to Serenity
Field of Potential
Bearer of a Rift to the Origin, a little always seeps through. You gather it around you; it brings comfort and power, but beware for Potential does not always lead to desired outcomes.
The words sounded better, but it was still horribly vague. Serenity’s first thought was that it sounded like an extra source for Mana and Essence, pulling it from the Origin. That was powerful, but it led to the use of power instead of finesse. It was an option, but not one Serenity was all that fond of.
Giver of Gifts
You gave the greatest of gifts to a world: the gift of yourself. A Giver of Gifts follows this Path, giving all they have if it will aid another.
No. Just no.
Origin’s Potential
Killer and savior, hope and despair: you have seen much of life and what it can be. For all that you have chosen to step away from the Origin, a piece of you wishes to embrace the truth behind it and reach the pinnacle of what you could be. Another piece of yourself says that there is more to Potential than self.
What you shall become is a matter of your Potential and your choices, and you carry a piece of the Origin of Creation within yourself. Live up to its Potential.
Inspiring, perhaps, but also vague.
Serenity knew he shouldn’t expect anything else. The Evolution was Sovereign of Potential; his options were going to focus either on being a Sovereign - which he had less than no desire to be - or on Potential, which was slippery and vague at its best. The most focused of the “Potential” Paths seemed to be Purifier, which looked more or less like the Origin’s enforcer. He might not have any objections to that, but at the same time it didn’t fit him.
Well, Giver of Gifts was also pretty focused. It was simply horrible.
Serenity looked again at Wandering Star before deciding that no, he didn’t want to wander. He might have to travel, but that wasn’t the same thing; he’d always know where home was.
That left the choice between Field of Potential and Origin’s Potential. In many ways they were similar, but Origin’s Potential talked about his choices while Field of Potential simply spoke of comfort and power. It wasn’t really that hard a choice, after all.
Origin’s Potential
[Path: Origin’s Potential]
[Path Skills: Potential of the Rift, Rift Control, Call on the Origin, Revivify, Realize Potential]
Level 10 - Potential of the Rift - Your Rift to the Origin will allow you to move items or creatures to the Origin and retrieve them later. Items or creatures stored in the Origin will be exposed to it. You may travel to the Origin using the Rift.
Was that a storage Skill? Well, it would probably be useful, though at Tier Three, it was generally possible to simply buy something that would store items. He’d had his Quick Belt for a long time. The advantage to this for him was probably simply that it wouldn’t be stored on a particular Form, which was how his Quick Belt worked.
Come to think of it, if he could duplicate Forms, did that mean the items he had on were duplicated? Serenity hadn’t noticed being naked when he duplicated himself the first time, so it seemed likely. It was something to look into.
Level 25 - Rift Control - You may control the Potential that leaks from your Rift to the Origin as long as it is within your aura, including increasing or decreasing the amount that leaks.
This one looked good. Serenity wasn’t going to turn down increased control.
Level 50 - Call on the Origin - The Origin is just that: the beginning of all things. Bring something temporarily into the real world, limited only by your imagination and power. Variable Cost.
This one looked like it was highly flexible, which meant it probably had some other downside. At a guess, it would cost a lot and he’d probably have to have an extremely good idea of what he needed. So it would be good for simple things but not anything overly powerful. Still, that meant that if he really needed a nail, he could make a nail - or whatever. It seemed like a good utility Skill, which made it odd to see it in the spot for a combat Skill.
Of course, flexibility was useful in combat, too; maybe that was why. Or perhaps it was intended to be used for summoning weapons? That could be very useful under the right circumstances.
Level 75 - Revivify - Potential can become warped in many ways. Restore something to its original Potential. Quality of repair affected by the level of understanding of what the repair requires, the amount of damage being repaired, the time since the damage occurred, and the Time Affinity, Concept, and Aspect of the user.
This looked like a time-reversal skill that was specifically designed to revert something to a better condition. It was exactly what Serenity needed to help Rube, or as close as he was ever going to get at least. It was too bad it was Level 75; the Path didn’t look like one that would be easy to level. Serenity hoped he was wrong, but perhaps he could make do with the rift itself until he got there.
Level 100 - Realize Potential - Use Potential drawn through the Rift to temporarily gain something from your Heritage. Variable Cost.
Heritage? Serenity had been ignoring that section of his Status ever since he left Tzintkra. He’d never figured out what it meant, other than tracking things he’d come in contact with. For someone else, this would probably be a straightforward choice between a few things - bloodlines were fairly rare, after all - but if it drew from everything in the Heritage section, it could be impressive.
Which made the “Variable Cost” note make sense. It would likely be expensive.
It wasn’t the most powerful Path Serenity had ever seen, but for something as vague as that description, he wasn’t unhappy with it.
It seemed a little strange that his Dhampir Path had given him several abilities that had to do with his Sovereign of Potential Form, yet his Species Path for Sovereign of Potential hadn’t. Was that what the Voice meant by a partial Evolution? Or was it simply because he already had them?
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General
Magic
Resistances
Heritages
Chimeric
Pure (Innate)
Essence Dragon (Primary)
Asura
Child of Time, Unbound
Dhampir, Essence/Mana
Draugr, Sage
Elemental, Essence
Elemental, Mana
Godling
Human, Earth
Lich, Paramount (Primary)
Vampire, Daywalker
Potential, Sovereign
Wraith, Nightmare
Other Known Heritages
Azata, Lightning
Curse Witch
Healing Light
Hexen
Heavens’ Fire
Jiang-Shi
Knight of Blood
Malevolent Spark
Mote of Decay
Mote of Stasis
Mummy
Remnant Wisp of Life
Revenant, Star
Sea Lion, Earth
Abilities
Monster Biology
Eyeless Sight
Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect
Vital Sight (previously called Life-Sight)
Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire
Blossoms’ Sleep
Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time
Runic Shielding Tattoos
Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation
Filter
Details unknown; so far, Serenity has determined that it will output Essence when fed mana, but it does not seem to have a use at this time.
Amplify Aura
Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown.
Increase Link Distance
Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown.
Change Stone Type
Details unknown
Raw Mana Control (Horns)
When in a ley line or other high concentration of raw mana, choose where it flows in the body.
Dhampir’s Default
When a Dhampir is casually examined, he or she appears to be a normal member of the living population.
Down to the River
When you physically envelop a being with a soul, you may choose to send their soul to the River of Souls. The soulless body will remain if applicable. Success rate depends on Ambit. When you do this, you will gain some of their knowledge but not personality. Decreased chance of success in any form other than Sovereign of Potential.
Link Core
While touching an Essence Core, you can attempt to create a Sovereign Link. Enhanced by Ambit.
Multiform
You may assume the shape of any Form you know. All Forms reflect yourself and all Forms are reflected in some manner in your Chimera Form. Detailed control of Forms increases with familiarity. Any Forms above the minimum require a continual maintenance cost of both Mana and Essence. Minimum number of Forms: 2. Maximum number of Forms: 4. Forms may be repeated.
Forms passively return to their normal condition.
Current known forms: Chimera, Hatchling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Armor, Sterath(?)
Rift of Potential
You can manifest a small rift between your location and the Origin Point.
Path Abilities
Loot Core
Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana
Resilience of the Dead
Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations
Eat Death
Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time.
Ability damaged
Basic Analyze
Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed
Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant)
Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable
Infused strike
Infuse your body or weapons with energy to deal additional damage. Replaces Deathstrike. May use any Affinity held. Power of infusion scales with Affinity used. Costs Stamina
Far Strike
Discharge the magic infused in your weapon to strike a single opponent at a distance. Stamina cost increases with distance
Adept Aspect Form
Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses
Basic Sense Raw Magic
Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active
Linked Sight
You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable
Moment of Prescience
Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat
Time’s Eye
Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina
(Note: the Stamina cost is low enough that it can be maintained for hours at a time, though that will significantly reduce Serenity’s available Stamina for other uses)
Unbound
Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you
Basic Identify
Identify an object to gain basic information on it, such as its name, basic properties, materials, and/or minor enchantments
Scale Hardening
Use Essence or Mana to reinforce your scales, making them harder to damage and more protective. Costs Stamina to maintain
Wait for an Opening
Study an opponent’s actions in combat to gain an intuitive understanding of the right time to strike
Second Wind
Convert some of a more filled resource pool (Mana, Stamina, or Essence) into an empty one. Consumes some of the converted resource
Stand Tall
Whether you are the last wall between your loved ones and your enemies or you simply love to fight, your ability to take a beating is exceptional. Blood loss, bruises, injuries, and even broken bones will not stop you. You can fight at the full effectiveness your body is capable of despite your injuries
Essence Sight
You can already sense Essence with your Aura. Sight adds precision and distance to your detection capability. This may be enabled or disabled at will. A visual effect may be present
Physical Storage
You can store spells inside your own body to be evoked later. Stored spells may be evoked only by you and may be triggered at any time. All variable effects must be determined prior to casting. Stored spells will degrade with time and use of mana or essence in the area the spell is stored.
Spell Conversion
You can convert the power of any spell you can Evoke into a ranged mana or essence strike. The power of the strike depends on the stored spell power.
Store Spell
You may temporarily store spells in items to be evoked later. The item must be strong enough to hold the spell, and synergy with the spell will slow spell degradation. Stored spells will degrade with time and nearby mana or essence use. Storage of spells can damage items used.
Designate Evocation Conditions
You may designate conditions on when a stored spell can be evoked. You can bypass any conditions you set, but you cannot bypass conditions set by other Evokers. This allows you to set conditions that will allow non-Evokers to Evoke stored spells, but spells Evoked by the untrained will be significantly degraded during the evocation.
Entwined Magic
You can mix Mana and Essence magic freely, to achieve effects not possible with Mana or Essence alone. Passive.
Gaze of the Origin
When you choose, you can infuse your gaze with the power of your connection to the Origin. Effects vary. Power depends on Ambit.
Aura of Magic
When you choose, you can reveal your Mana and Essence pools with your aura. Passively increases the maximum size and regeneration of your Mana and Essence. Increases the regeneration of others’ mana and essence at a slight cost to your regeneration rate. Easily sensed. Power depends on size and regeneration rate of mana and essence pools.
Mold Magic
You can alter magic that has been given a steady form. Passive.
Origin’s Potential Locked Abilities:
Level 10 - Potential of the Rift - Your Rift to the Origin will allow you to move items or creatures to the Origin and retrieve them later. Items or creatures stored in the Origin will be exposed to it. You may travel to the Origin using the Rift.
Level 25 - Rift Control - You may control the Potential that leaks from your Rift to the Origin as long as it is within your aura, including increasing or decreasing the amount that leaks.
Level 50 - Call on the Origin - The Origin is just that: the beginning of all things. Bring something temporarily into the real world, limited only by your imagination and power. Variable Cost.
Level 75 - Revivify - Potential can become warped in many ways. Restore something to its original Potential. Quality of repair affected by the level of understanding of what the repair requires, the amount of damage being repaired, the time since the damage occurred, and the Time Affinity, Concept, and Aspect of the user.
Level 100 - Realize Potential - Use Potential drawn through the Rift to temporarily gain something from your Heritage. Variable Cost.
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Author's Note: I'm still working on the format of the Status, trying to make it better. The Abilities section in particular annoys me; it's long and awkward. I think I like the list better than the table, but I'm still not happy with it.
Let me know what you think!
