Tag: magic

#Lore24 – Entry #289 – Sentinel City by Night #15 – I Want a New Drug

From the Journal of Sheba O’Rourke, Private Investigator

“At least my time in Sentinel City hasn’t been boring.  Barely a week and a half gone since Dollface was whisked away by Conway’s team to wherever they took her and I’ve already got another “official” case.  Since the last one, I’d learned Conway was actually Sokolova’s childe, so it wasn’t really a surprise when I got the call from the Prince regarding SCPD needing a consult at a murder scene.  Walsh would be waiting for me.

Really hope I’ll get some cases that don’t involve grisly murders one of these nights.  Still, work’s work.

Old Taurus is running like a dream now; hasn’t driven this good in years.  Probably should keep it on a regular maintenance schedule…

Anyway, found the scene pretty easy, nightclub called Paragon on the north end of town, plenty of badges blocking off the scene.  Spotted Emmerson’s car a couple blocks away on my way in, but didn’t see her skulking around outside when I got there.  Could smell the blood in the air soon as I was shown inside by the uniforms on guard; it was thick.  Walsh met me outside the main dance floor where the killings happened, introduced me to the detective in charge on this one from the local precinct, one Grover Blumenthal.  He was on the young side, put me more in the mind of an accountant by the look of him, but at least he wasn’t outright hostile to me coming in on the case.  Guess he hadn’t had time to get jaded, cynical, and territorial yet.  He was also “in the know” as far as my reasons for being there.

The CSIs were hard at work on the dance floor and a few dozen witnesses were being interviewed in another room off to the side.  Dance floor was a bloody mess; doubt a bomb could’ve done it much better.  Just a quick look told me there were at least four victims here based on the number of left hands I counted.  Took a moment to steady myself as I took it all in; all that blood stirred the Beast, made me hungry.  Guess it had been a couple nights since I’d had a proper meal. 

Looked almost like an animal attack; shredded flesh, limbs ripped off, chewed on, blood splattered everywhere.  Several people had been taken to the hospital who had survived the assault.  Suspects escaped, bloody footprints headed toward the emergency exit, disappeared into the night once they hit the wet alley and the steady rain that had been falling since yesterday.  The absolute brutality was impressive; didn’t figure regular humans could pull off something like this without a weapon of some kind.  Ghouls could, perhaps, given enough time to season; a Fiend’s war ghouls could definitely do something like this, but they’d have spooked the crowd before they got too close.  Lupines could also make a scene like this, but they tended to avoid known vampire cities unless they were looking to stir up trouble.  As I asked about witness descriptions of the incident, Blumenthal read off some of his notes; these were young men, sounded like regulars on the club scene, known to spread around recreational drugs when they came out to party; then they freaked out and started tearing people apart.  Descriptions weren’t tracking with a lupine attack; I’m no expert in their ways, but I do know they have a way of fogging mortal memories when they change into their wolf forms.  Handy that.

Wasn’t about to touch these bodies with my second sight.  Level of violence and the horrific deaths they’d suffered meant several sleepless days for me if I did.  Did take some time to look over the scene with my aura perception, though, and it paid off.  Hidden in one of the meat piles was a very faint magical aura.  Went for a look, saw a little red vial mixed in with the gore.  Pulled the detectives over and let the humans catalog the evidence as they would before I had my closer look.  Stuff looked like blood, but it was too bright, too red, almost glowing.  Vial was the kind that slipped into some kind of injector device, which hadn’t been found yet. 

Given the aura on this stuff, I wasn’t sure what to make of it.  Assumed it was some kind of drug, maybe, but I wasn’t about to shoot up with it to find out.  Blumenthal seemed a little more intent on watching me than the scene, and when I asked him about it, he seemed a little embarrassed, said it was the first time he’d ever worked with one of my kind, quickly corrected and said he’d meant a PI.  Smooth cover.  Maybe the kid had potential. 

Speaking quietly so as not to be overhead by anyone who wasn’t clued in on me, I let them know that I’d sensed something supernatural about the vial, the kind of thing that really didn’t need to get out.  Knew somewhere I could get it analyzed, if they’d see me, and figured it was probably the best lead for me to take while they handled the cleanup detail.  Not getting any arguments, I tucked the vial in a Ziploc and then into my coat.  I’d have to go through the proper procedures, might take a couple nights, but it looked like I’d be visiting the Tremere chantry.  That was sure to be an experience.”

#Lore 24 – Entry #116 – Sci-Fi Month II #25 – Astral Divination and Navigation

From the Personal Journal of Primula Tallfoot, Arcane Support Division Head, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana. 

Sometimes I can’t help but ponder how I’ve wound up all the way out here…where my life has gone so very wrong that we’re relying on someone like Mizutani to navigate this entire fleet.  He still gets lost aboard the Morgiana on the regular, is still routinely late to work, and yet he’s the most talented diviner aboard?  Somehow.  Some way.  Mizutani, who can’t seem to see past his next date night, is being called upon to navigate the fleet?!  Is one of the gods of magic just fucking with us on this one?  I’d believe it.  Seriously…Mizutani is our go to on this leg of the trip?  I’d better make sure that cage of his is extra tight and prickly so that he stays focused, or we’ll all wind up diving into a quasar or taking the wrong kind of ride through an aetheric current.

Captain Silvercask is the one to blame for this mess we’re about to find ourselves in.  We’ve been following the course that was approved by the ASC before we left, and out of the blue, the captain showed up this morning to inquire about long range divination for a system outside the planned flight path.  He never told me where he got the idea to view the system from afar, and was actually pretty tight-lipped about it, simply asking for an indulgence.  Fine, whatever.  Everyone has secrets.   I get it.  Maybe he’s got word from one of those trailblazer teams?  Regardless, since we’ve still not overcome that long range interference that plagues the fleet’s sensors out here, we’ll have to rely on our diviners.

I still can’t understand how Mizutani specialized in divination, with a special focus on astral divination, and somehow excelled at it at the academy.  Yeah, I had to pull his records again just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it when I’d read it the first time.  Did someone give me falsified records as a joke?  The captain and I have arranged for tomorrow morning, first thing, to find out.  The ship’s due to drop out of hyperspace at 0900 and the ASD is due to begin divination immediately once we revert to realspace.  I’ll be overseeing the operation, of course, but Mizutani’s the lead on this one.  The twit looked like he was about to panic when I told him about him finally taking on some serious responsibility.  I had to get pretty stern with him to make him understand that being late in the morning was not an option if he ever wanted his dick free again and might have implied some additional restrictions if he screws up.  Think I got my point across.  I’m sure he’ll be plenty motivated to perform tomorrow.  If it’s one thing arcanists are good at, it’s working under pressure.  At least, I hope that’s still how they teach them at that fancy school…

Entry Update:

I guess anything’s possible, even Mizutani getting to work on time and performing his duties as expected.  I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw it today, but he actually knows what he’s doing.  Apparently when properly motivated, he can perform admirably.  Will it continue beyond today?  I have my doubts, but we’ll see. 

The astral divination went splendidly, with Mizutani leading another half dozen of our diviners in a circle, their gazes focused on the system in question.  It looks like another fairly standard star system, a dozen planetary bodies, though only one appears to be in the habitable zone, the third one in line.  Several of the larger outer planets will likely serve well for construction materials and other resources, and there were no immediate dangers found in the system itself, no signs of modern tech, but there are definitely more primitive civilizations on the planet, pre-industrial, equivalent to most of our own societies during the Age of Legends.  Thus far, the diviners have seen humans, orcs, kobolds, and a few elvish enclaves; there are likely others in the mix as well.  So far, my prediction of encountering no truly alien species is correct.

Mizutani was drawn to a particular region as he focused on the planet’s surface, in the mountains on one of the southern continents.  He sensed lingering arcane ripples coming from the area; his scrying mirror revealed ruins there…draconic ruins in fact.  Though mostly hidden amongst the jungle overgrowth, the higher elevations revealed undeniably draconic architecture and statues.  It seems that we’ve finally got a proper ruin to explore!  Captain Silvercask is changing course as I write this and has already dispatched a scouting team to secure the area for us and other teams to study.  We should be arriving within the week, and I for one am anxious to finally set foot outside the ship and get to some serious work!

#Lore 24 – Entry #104 – Sci-Fi Month II #13 – h@cKiNg == M@g1k

From the Personal Journal of Chiasa Charity Chiasakaniki, Systems Analyst and Programmer, IT Division, assigned UEF-04, Maharani Morgiana.

It’s a question I’ve been asked before, but not one I’ve ever really took time to think about.  I mean, how does one breathe?  You just do, right?  It’s basically the same with my magic.  Basically.  More or less. Kind of?

I know that’s not really a good answer, but my boss keeps hounding me about it, so I guess I should come up with some kind of answer that he’ll accept.  When that ticket came in for a printer issue today when he showed up asking, I was super stoked to go and deal with it, even if it was just a cable that came unplugged; shame it took me like two hours to make sure the department was in no danger of a similar issue happening again!  Safe now, not sorry later!

Still, my magic…I’m not the only kitsune I know who does this kind of thing, I guess it’s become something of a thing with those of us who prefer to live amongst the big cities these days.  It’s not really techomancy as the term is usually used, cause I’m not really repairing or enhancing or controlling machinery with it.  I guess…it’s like…more like, anyway…the enchantments and illusions we kitsune are known for, just in digital form? 

Ugh, this is hard to put into words.

It’s second nature to me, so it’s more instinctive, I think is the way to put it.  When I concentrate on a given task inside a computer system or network and then reach out with my magic as I work, I can somehow make it work on the code.  Like…let’s see…take a simple function to have the coffee machine brew up a cup of coffee every five minutes for an hour.  If I wanted to hack the coffee pot to say, double that rate for two hours, I just find my way inside and will it to happen.  If you were to ask an arcanist, I guess they’d say I “charmed” it into doing something it wouldn’t normally do.

Same way with ICE and security daemons.  If I encounter that kind of thing, I just “throw up an illusion” and hopefully it’ll believe it and go running off after it instead of coming at me, leaving me to slip in behind it and access the juicy bits and bytes.  Doesn’t always work, but most of the time it does; just depends on the system I’m trying to get into or the program I’m trying to modify.  And yeah…I have taken over a system or two before, just to see if I could, not that I was doing anything that illegal or anything.  “Domination” I guess is what an arcanist would call it.  Well, not the same kind of “domination” you’d find the clergy of Erisaya or Yurisaya practicing, but you know, the “mental” kind. 

How do I know which code to target, how do I see these “daemons” inside a system?  Well…I just do?  Guess that wouldn’t be good enough.  Okay, so…it’s like this, once I get into the zone after initially hacking in the traditional way, I just sort of…see it?  It’s like a VR interface I guess, but on a much smoother and less disorienting level, like pure mental imagery that overlays with the code and meshes with it.  I guess it IS kind of like my own personal VR system, just powered by kitsune illusion magic.  And when I look through these “goggles”, I see safe areas, danger zones, and active threats, like a targeting HUD in a starfighter, kind of, so I just know what to do and where to go.  It’s like jacking in directly for a cyborg with the right implants, just without any of the nasty hardware requirements. 

Kind of. I think. 

Is this making any sense at all?  Maybe not.  I dunno, I’ve never had to describe how my magic works before.  It just works.  Why is that so hard to comprehend?

Guess I need to explain my tails too…he’s asked about them about as much as the rest of it.  It’s a thing with kitsune; we don’t all have multiple tails, a tiny fraction of us have all nine, but everyone I know who can do what I do has at least three, like me.  Maybe I should refer him to the mythology on some world or another instead of trying to explain it myself?  I mean, it’s just how this is for me, like, completely a natural thing, so I just don’t know what to say.  My tails are part of me, they indicate a certain magical potency, and they get animated when I’m in the zone.  I just don’t really think about them that much when it comes to what I do.

LORE24 ENTRY #36 – Supers Month #5 – Black Cat

 

Hero Name

Black Cat

 

Real Name

Elizabeth “Liz” Powell

 

Description

Having lived outside of the normal world for decades, Liz remains somewhat stuck in time, as do many of her order, and doesn’t necessarily make much of a distinction between her true identity and her heroic one; pretty much nobody knows her outside of the order anyway.  

Though she is well into her 50s, Liz still has the appearance of a teenager, with long black hair reaching down to her butt, worn loose, with very obvious cat ears and a tail covered in black fur.  Her eyes are amber and can appear feline when she is using her arcane sight.  She is of average height and build, and still wears the kinds of clothes she wore when she was still living in the real world, namely heavy metal band shirts and jeans or jean shorts, usually accented with leather collars, cuffs, and maybe even a light chain instead of a belt, and a good pair of stout boots.

As she’s interacting with the people of Sentinel City more and more, and working with the heroes of the city, as Black Cat, she has taken up a costume of her own, going with another classic style, namely the sexy witch.  Her heroic costume consists of a wide-brimmed, floppy witch’s hat with holes for her ears to poke through, beset with various magical charms, a leather mini-dress with a cleavage-revealing bustier top and loose-fitting corset, opera-length gloves, over-the-knee high-heeled boots, and fishnet stockings.  Later, following a bit of a magical mishap involving the mysterious Kitsune, her costume would be composed of magically-infused latex instead of leather.

 

Powers and Abilities

Unlike the vast majority of the current wave of superpowered individuals, Black Cat is a classically trained arcanist (witch, wizard, mage, whatever the term one decides to use), giving her a wide variety of spells and a deep knowledge of the intricacies of the nature of magic that none of her companions have.  In essence, she is capable of learning and using practically any spell assuming she has the mana reserves to do so, whereas the ‘supers’ around her typically have a rather narrow specialty, their powers focusing in only a few well-defined areas.

Having bonded herself to her familiar, Black Cat possesses heightened senses, not only better night vision, hearing, and smell like a cat, but magical sight which allows her to read the flows of magic and understand their composition almost immediately.  Further, this bond allows her to cast certain spells when she would normally not be able to (such as when bound and gagged), as her familiar can take over the physical requirements in its state of existing between the physical world and the ethereal.

Due to the nature of her training and her deep knowledge of magical theory, and her access to the vast archives of the Sanctum, Black Cat can generally come up with a spell for any occasion, often improvising well-known spells to create other effects, or coming up with innovative uses for simple spells that the overspecialized ‘supers’ often can’t contend with.  She also possesses knowledge of at least one of the forbidden spells, known as the Bands of Arrnor, which calls upon the power of a demon to capture foes n a most inescapable and deeply erotic way.  Further, she also possesses enough magical aptitude to study the ways of chronomancy with the head of the Order of Hecate herself.

 

Background Info

A woman out of time, Liz was born in the 1970s and raised in the 1980s, growing up in a suburban, middle-class family and enjoying all the entertainment the time period had to offer.  As magic had mostly been drained from the material world, it came as a complete shock to her when, during her early teenage years, she began manifesting uncontrolled magical abilities.  It was soon after these began that Sassy, a member of the Order of Hecate, would appear and officially adopt Liz into the Order as its newest apprentice, the first one since Sassy herself, who had joined in the late 1800s.  Though she would miss her family, Liz was fascinated by the fact that magic was real and that she could use it, and dove headfirst into her studies.  Inside the order’s Sanctum, time has little meaning, and before she knew it, decades had passed, and her magical abilities had matured, though her body still appeared mostly as it did when she was taken in.  She would chose the path of bonding with her familiar instead of keeping it as a separate entity, gaining its feline features.

Then, an amazing thing happened.  Whatever force had sealed up the source of magic in the real world suddenly vanished, and with the dam broken, magic flooded the Earth.  Old leylines were suddenly bursting with power, and people across the face of the world were gaining magical powers of all kinds, kinds that had not been seen in centuries, if not completely new.  Given the Order’s nature, there was really no decisions made to investigate, only to study until the time was right.  Being the youngest of the mages, only in her early 50s, Liz did what any teenager properly raised in the 80s would have done:  she snuck out of the Sanctum and explored Sentinel City on her own, discovering that the world was almost entirely different from how she remembered it.  For the first time, she could understand why it was that most of the members of the Order avoided venturing into the material realm.

It was during her exploration that she would come upon the crime scene that Mecha Musume and Cyber Seer had recently taken care of, learning more details about the strange use of magic and picking up on the magic that was used by the mysterious Pink Pussy, her instincts telling her that there was much more going on that what was at once obvious.  She would eventually run afoul of the Sentinel City police, specifically Detective Conway, during her investigations, and would have to break out, after which she would join up with Mecha Musume and Cyber Seer to hatch a plan to capture Pink Pussy before she could complete her crime spree.  Though they would successfully capture Pink Pussy and learn of the existence of Dollface, their plans would go awry from there, and she would be defeated by the talented illusionist known only as Kitsune.

Following this incident, Liz continues to learn more of the modern world, now with the blessings of her superiors in the Order, to uncover the nature of the mysterious dark entity seeking the magical relics Pink Pussy and Kitsune had been pilfering, and acting as one of the newest heroes of the city to fight the surge of superpowered criminal activity as Black Cat.

 

Known Enemies and Rivals

Clean Sweep (Enemy)

The Clean Sweep Gang (Enemy)

Dollface (Enemy)

Demon Lord Kurae (Enemy)

Kitsune (Enemy…?)

 

LORE24 ENTRY #26 – Scrying Magic

Category – Spell/Magic

In the age of high technology and space travel, magic has certainly waned, but among the various types of magic, perhaps it is scrying that has maintained its presence the most, even though it is perhaps the least flashy of disciplines.  Even though most spying revolves around corporate and governmental intrigues with the use of technology and guile, most mega corporations, with DSM as the most prevalent, have some degree of magical scrying at their disposal; wise corporations always invest in some form of warding in their most sensitive areas, and perhaps even on their most important people, to prevent this long-distance espionage.

Little has changed regarding the practice of scrying.  It still requires a medium with which to view distance places, typically through some kind of water-filled bowl or a mirror, both enchanted and attuned to the scrying magics.  It is then a matter of the skill of the arcanist making the attempt to scry, with factors such as distance, knowledge of the target, quality of scrying medium, and consideration of magical protections against scrying determining the amount of success in the attempt.  An experienced scrying specialist will be able to locate and view a chosen target across vast distances, across multiple star systems even, with perfect clarity and without the target being aware they are being remotely viewed.  

The dangers of scrying are not necessarily as high as other magical disciplines, but are unique in their own way.  A certain amount of subtlety is required, because the very act of scrying creates a magical link between the scryer and the target.  Thus, if a scryer presses too hard, or tries for too long, there is a growing chance that the target will become almost instinctually aware that they are being watched, and those trained in resisting scrying will learn to further hone these instincts.  Further, magical protections against scrying typically just hide the target or area from viewing, but some more advanced warding spells will be able to cause harm to the remote viewer, creating a violent feedback that can potentially kill them.  Scrying specialists, while performing their viewings, are also vulnerable, unable to easily defend themselves while they are engaged in the act, meaning they will have to have created prior arrangement for their own defense.  There have been instances in which two or more corporate scrying specialists have engaged in long-distance hunting operations against one another, trying to find weaknesses in each others’ defenses that would reveal one’s location before the other, and allow them to send out a strike force to deal with them.

 

LORE24 ENTRY #23 – Warding Magic

Category – Spell / Magic

One of the most studied forms of magic for its protective benefits, warding magic is a often a much deeper topic than one may initially surmise, and is prevalent in all modern branches of mysticism.  Primarily, warding magic is meant to protect either a location or object, or living beings, from some form of harm or other magic.  This is usually in the form of magically charged symbols, or wards, that are placed upon the target.  Wards can have a range of effects, from a constant protective ward that mitigates some form of damage, a ward shielding something from detection (typically via scrying), or a triggered trap that can cause harm.

Some example warding spells include:

Ward of Protection – This is a broader range of spells, depending on one’s mystic path, which is most often used to protect the caster or others around them from harm in some way.  This could take the form of a protective barrier that mitigates damage from typical sources (melee weapons, projectile weapons), the environment (extreme heat and cold, high pressure environments, or even vacuum), or other sources of a magical nature (elemental attack spells, etc).  These often take the form of an intangible aura around the subject, or a more focused, but smaller, visible shield of force, depending on application.  Some more powerful variations of these wards can even reflect the damaging source back toward the one who used it.

Ward of Concealment – These types of wards are meant to hide an object or person from detection, typically through magical scrying, though can also negate detection from mundane vision and other senses in some variations.  There may be no visual clue that such a ward is in place, without using arcane sight, but these wards can either completely hide a subject, or make their detection extremely difficult for an unskilled mystic.  Some wards only affect single senses, such as smell or hearing, while more advanced versions affect all senses, even those magical in nature.  A variation of this ward is the Ward of Tracking, which, when placed upon a target, will allow the caster to magically track the target over vast distances.

Ward of Destruction – These are often called offensive or combat wards, and are triggered to explode when the set triggering condition is met, dealing some form of damage to the ones triggering them, or releasing another spell on the target.  The most typical form of this ward is not unlike a landmine, causing an explosion of magical or elemental energy when someone steps within its area; some casters have been known to use multiple such wards to entrap a target during the course of a battle, and this variation of the spell has been refined to be easily used without much preparation or time, and are often called ‘landmine spells,’ even if they can be attached to any surface.  More advanced forms interweave additional spells within them, or increase the range or effect of the explosive effect.

 

LORE24 ENTRY #20 – Seal-Tech

Category – Technology

Amongst the most controversial and feared arca-tech (arcane technology) in the known galaxy is Seal-Tech, unique to the dark elves, its secrets fiercely protected behind walls of secrecy.  Used primarily in the dark elf-controlled prison system (a lucrative business in its own right given their successful business model), on its surface, Seal-Tech is used as a means of controlling the prisoner population.  At first glance, one could assume that Seal-Tech was simply an advanced form of latex, typically seen in the form of a skin-tight bodysuit prisoners are placed within, sometimes with attached restraints, and able to be recolored at a signal from a controller to indicate various statuses of the wearer, even report back on their general state of health.  It is known to be much more durable than standard latex, and generally is reasoned to be used because nothing could be hidden on a person wearing it.

Below the surface, however, Seal-Tech is much more advanced and insidious.  Having gone through multiple advances over the centuries, Seal-Tech, while indeed latex at its core, is far more than a simple rubber compound.  The reason behind the name is primarily from the most powerful of the material’s abilities, namely the ability to seal away the magic of those wearing it, completely blocking the ability of arcanists and even divine or druidic casters from casting their spells.  The ability of the material to reshape itself on command also makes it perfect for immobilizing hostile prisoners and limiting their ability to cause trouble or even use basic implements, able to form a variety of restraint devices (straps, cuffs, mittens, gags, an inescapable sack to immobilize the wearer, and more).  In the most recent iterations of the technology, the dark elves have managed to incorporate a life-sustaining magic into the mix, which serves to keep a prisoner wearing the suit nourished without the need for actual food (though once their sentence is complete and the suits removed, they are ravenously hungry and must eat immediately), as well as self-cleaning functions so that the suits never have to be removed.

The truly nefarious nature of Seal-Tech is tied to its near-indestructability; once a person has been placed within a suit of Seal-Tech, they cannot remove it.  If the suit is damaged, even with cold, fire, or other means, to the point of being completely burned away, somehow, the Seal-Tech will regrow and reform itself in a matter of minutes (older iterations of the technology took much longer to reform itself, hours or days).  Though outwardly able to affected by magic, it is highly resistant to magical analysis, and the nature of its legendary resilience has yet to be determined, though many arcanists surmise that it is tied to a very advanced form of curse magic.  Others have theorized that Seal-Tech is somehow related to the dark elves’ patron goddess Yurisaya, as her faithful followers often make use of the material for their own purposes, and are known to work closely with the prison system to provide care, discipline, and spiritual guidance to prisoners.

 

LORE24 ENTRY #9 – The Greenwhiskers

Category – Organization

The Greenwhiskers are a group of druidic mystics originally founded by the nomadic rattenvolk clans during the pre-galactic expansion times.  The group has long been dedicated to preserving and defending nature from overzealous expansion efforts by the larger races, but have traditionally made efforts to come to diplomatic solutions as opposed to combative ones.  To encourage peaceful interactions, they also offer aid to travelers and others in need if they are able to.

During the early days of space exploration, the Greenwhiskers proved instrumental in promoting long-distance space travel.  While most rattenvolk looking to the stars were talented technicians, able to get into small spaces most couldn’t, the druidic Greenwhiskers were responsible for maintaining the ship-based gardens in early exploration vessels, providing not only fresh air, but extra food and vital knowledge on newly discovered flora and fauna.  They were likewise instrumental during colonization efforts of various worlds, working to ensure stability while minimizing dangers to the local environment.

In modern times, the role of the Greenwhiskers has diminished in terms of space travel and exploration with the widespread use of and perfected designs of the TK Drives, but they are still found across most systems, maintaining station-bound gardens, nature preserves, and even being responsible for the upkeep of natural elements scattered across many cities.  With the opening of the Demon Sector, they have seen a resurgence in demand as thousands of explorers dive into the unknown and seek to expand to the many worlds within.

LORE24 ENTRY #3 – Prayer of Blessing

Category – Spell / Magic

A Prayer of Blessing is a type of divine magic used by priests and priestesses.  The caster of this spell speaks a prayer to the deity to which they have devoted themselves, asking for the blessing of their deity to protect and bolster themselves and their allies, most often in a combat situation, though there are variations for other circumstances.  This is a very common type of spell.

 

Example Blessings

Blessing of Battle – A blessing of this type bolsters the combat prowess of the recipient, enhancing their ability to land telling blows and enhancing the amount of damage done should the strike land.

Blessing of Defense – A blessing of this type bolsters the defenses of the recipient, creating a magical shield that will soften incoming blows or deflect incoming bullets, if not completely, enough to allow the victim of the attack to perhaps survive the attack.

Blessing of Endurance – A blessing of this type bolsters the physical resilience of the recipient, granting them greater endurance and fortitude to withstand harsh conditions, march for longer, or even resist the effects of poisons and toxins.

 

The I-89 Tunnel System

Located southeast of Paradise City in the Western Wastes, the Interstate 89 tunnel provides the most direct route between the Paradise City trade hub and the smaller settlements east of the Jagged Peaks, running in a generally east-west direction.  Before the Great War sent the world into chaos, the I-89 Mega Tunnel was a fifty mile tunnel, the longest and largest in the world at the time of its construction, consisting of eight traffic lanes and a massive support system that would provide emergency shelter and services should a severe accident occur.  During peak usage, this tunnel saw perhaps a hundred thousand or more vehicles a day.

Every mile within the tunnel was a small emergency services and safety station, where traffic officers would monitor the flow of traffic and assist should minor accidents occur.  These stations also served as the entrances to the emergency tunnels that ran parallel to the main tunnel, along the full length, on either side, and exiting at both ends.  These tunnels, in the event of a catastrophic emergency (such as a massive pile up resulting in a severe fire event) would allow travelers to safely escape the tunnel, and provided temporary emergency shelter and supplies. 

There were multiple ‘police boxes’ in the tunnel, one on either side of the road, placed every five miles along the tunnel.  These served as the stations for Tunnel Traffic Corps to remain on duty and deploy in the event of speeders or other violators, with their main base of operations being at the center of the tunnel in the area known as the Fuel n’ Fun Zone.  These were connected via additional tunnels out of sight of normal traffic flow, and typically had half a dozen patrol cars each, with a dozen officers on duty at any given time.  Thanks to the impressive camera monitoring system built within the tunnel, their job was usually an easy one.

 

After the Great War

After the Great War, the tunnel was generally impassable for several years.  When the bombs started falling, the massive traffic flow turned into a chaotic mess as blast waves from the magically-infused nuclear bombs rolled through the tunnel at both ends, causing massive pileups of vehicles, which, due to intense heat from the blasts and the subsequent fires that filled the tunnel, would fuse together into an impassable quagmire of burnt steel.  The support systems within the tunnel failed almost immediately as they were overwhelmed, and those lucky enough to have survived deeper into the tunnel became panicked in the mass confusion, fighting wildly to escape through the emergency tunnels, which were likewise compromised by the blasts and flooded with radioactive fire and suffering multiple collapses  throughout their lengths.

Only once thing started to settle down and a new kind of society began to take shape did anyone attempt to navigate through the tunnel system.  Most who tried were never seen again, resulting in most trade caravans and travelers taking the much longer route leading them through the Jagged Peaks, turning what had once been an hour’s drive into a week-long journey.  It was after Paradise City was officially formed that a concerted effort was made to reopen the tunnel for travel; by this time the worst of the radiation had faded to manageable levels, and new groups had formed to deal with the mutants and abominations that had grown common within the wastes. 

The newly reformed Tunnel Traffic Corps, a group of former soldiers, mercenaries, wasteland survivalists, engineers, and resourceful independents, with the support of the various factions controlling Paradise City, were tasked with blazing a trail through the tunnel.  Taking several months and costing dozens, if not hundreds, of lives, the TTC were nonetheless successful in cutting a path through the wreckage and collapses within the tunnel, creating the first traversable, if not entirely safe, route through the I-89 tunnel since before the war.  From then on, or at least, as funding and raiders from the wastes would allow, the TTC would strive to keep the route open and as free of mutants as possible. 

With the tunnel route opened, trade caravans can generally expect a two-day journey to and from Paradise City, though it can take longer depending on the nature of the caravan, whether they’ll need to maneuver by another group traveling in the opposite direction, and general mutant activity.  Hiring on additional guards is always recommended, and freelance mercenaries are always able to find work at either end of the tunnel.  

 

The Fuel n’ Fun Zone

Located in the very center of the I-89 Tunnel is a former tourist trap known as the Fuel n’ Fun Zone, built within a massive natural cavern.  This location once offered fuel, food, a place to rest, medical services, and even a small amusement park to entertain travelers.  For a time, it was one of the most visited places in the country.  There was even another smaller cavern system beneath the park, known as the Firefly Caverns, which had unusual crystalline formations that glowed faintly all on their own, winking in and out like fireflies.  

This area is generally considered to be about as safe as anywhere else in the tunnel, with most surviving buildings having been pilfered and looted already, though some treasures may still be found if one is brave enough.  Though mutant creatures still show up here from time to time, coming from somewhere beneath the area, the most pressing danger are the Parkers, a group of cannibals who have claimed the amusement park for themselves.  They tend to keep to themselves, and won’t usually attack larger groups, but will eagerly go after individuals or smaller parties that venture too close to their domain.  There have been stories about them keeping their victims alive as long as possible, cutting off bits and pieces at a time, and storing their mutilated victims in makeshift cages attached to the Ferris wheel at the rear of the park.  Some rumors even persist that they maintain their numbers through strange magic, converting those victims they deem worthy into new family members, should they survive. 

The Fuel n’ Fun Zone makes up the first level of the I-89 megadungeon, and will be detailed in the next article in this series. 

Keep your eyes open for the next entry, and thanks for reading!

Till next time, stay safe out there!  Over and out!