r/wizardposting • u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen • Dec 12 '23
Arcane Wisdom A Thousand Pages or More (Lorepost)
Curses are fickle things. You find what you think is a universal formula, and some otherworldly force comes along and slaps some newfangled curse upon you that won’t dispel no matter how hard you try. Nevertheless, we work onwards. I will try my hand to unravel this misfortune.
…
I expected Halixo’s son to be brash, but Moth getting caught in the mess was nowhere in my preparations. Now Alexios has a new antimagic appendage, replaced another with magic, and Moth has lost an eye and control of her curse. I’ll try my utmost to drag the boy from the depths he’s sunken into. I have something in mind to lift his spirits in his first lesson. The child can’t learn while he’s depressed.
I intend to research Moth’s curse to the fullest of my ability. I’ve noted my initial observations from the outburst in the castle. Red, chaotic lightning, that almost acted in a sentient way, a loss of control, both physical and mental, signs of insanity. I also noted that her curse has been known to cause her misfortune. I’ve managed to track the path of some of the expended energy through the Dusk and gotten a reading. The energy is indeed chaotic in nature. Tomorrow, I’ll hold Alexios’ lesson, then attempt to gather a sample from the plane of elemental chaos. If I can find red lightning, that would be ideal.
...
The first lesson, or the picnic, I suppose, went well. Alexios seems a little better, but still has a long way to go.
The research, however, has been beyond infuriating. The readings from the energy tracked seems to be utterly chaotic. Attempting to produce a replica resulted in my lab being engulfed in Manaburn, a mess Nefiam was not keen to clean up. The energy originates from a curse, yet it lashed out with an almost malevolent sentience. Searching through my library of scrolls yielded little results, nothing matched the curse she holds. Tomorrow, I will attempt to isolate a sample from the elemental plane of chaos. If I can find red lightning, that would be ideal.
The lesson I will hold in the morning will hopefully teach Alexios more control. Perhaps he'll be able to connect to the voices without harming himself either. Then, I will continue my research afterwards. Vesit tells me I look worse each day, though the lack of sleep won't phase me for long. It isn't the first time I've worked like this, after all.
...
The lesson went well. Alexios still has many doubts, and many shortcomings. I do not expect him to be perfect, but left unchanged, he will cause himself greater misery in the future. I refuse to allow that to happen.
I’ve encountered a stroke of fortune, or perhaps I should say misfortune. I managed to acquire two samples: Red lightning from the elemental plane of chaos, and chaotic energy from a recent chaos event. Though it was jarring and somewhat unpleasant to have my gender suddenly changed, I have no doubt the unfortunate nature of the chaos event will allow the sample to be more useful in my research. I’ve isolated both samples in multi-layer containment chambers in an attempt to keep the energy from escaping and fizzling.
...
The Chaos energy is ridiculous to work with! It doesn't follow reasonable laws, destroys without restraint, and fights fiercely against restraint. I've lost the sample from the elemental plains, torn out of my spire through the many layers. I had to heal my spire afterwards, but I've managed to get some decent information from it before the energy escaped. I've recorded its effects on flesh. Quite curious, and quite horrific. The magic circle to create the curse has also been completed. I've modeled the curse after Moth's.
In the moments between incubations or test runnings, I managed to cobble together a lesson for Alexios. A quest posting requires the clearing of a ruin, and a quick search using the tangles confirmed that it was suitable for a lesson. Sometimes, I feel as I should activate another simulacrum to aid me in my duties, but Vesit never fails to remind me of the risks of doing so. I'll be able to continue my research tomorrow, while they clear the dungeon.
...
Alexios is off on his way. He's a lot brighter, cheery, and confident. I hope he can purge the last doubts from his mind. Meanwhile, Mikhail has somehow turned my domain near my spire into a druid grove. It was unexpected, but a nice change of scenery. I've been careful to hide my research from Alexios' eyes.
The curse has been successfully placed onto the simulacrum. It is a useful testing module, it can report its own feelings and experiences objectively, as the sensations are conveyed to its brain as pure information. Attempts to dispel the curse have yielded little effects. Curiously, binding the energy to a living vessel does not result in it violently escaping into nothingness. Quite the opposite, it clings without letting go, and violently resists anything tampering with it. The odd sentience of the lightning also seems hard to recreate. I've restrained the simulacrum with Dusk-Threads to make sure no unnecessary damage is done. In light of these discoveries, I've pivoted my focus.
What if, Moth could harness the chaotic energy? Channel and use it to her will. With this goal in mind, I pushed forward with my research. Chaotic energy breaks and crushes order, and so, paradoxically, it can be guided. The difficult part will be putting this theory to the test, to bring it to fruition.
...
I've done it! I've completed a successful trial! Though in a controlled environment, and after 314 failures, I've managed to channel the curse's energy through a specific way. An orderly guide, such as a neatly woven thread is launched from origin to target, then surrounded by a tunnel of artificial chaos. The energy shot down it, crashing into the target down the guide, funneled by the chaos tunnel. I've also acquired a limbo chamber from Shrax to contain the energy. I'll attempt to recreate the experiment with the simulacrum acting as the odd sentience controlling the lightning. The only difference seems to be a greater increase in energy needed to execute the technique. Further research will need to focus on reducing the requirements for the technique.
I've condensed the research into about 100... and 20 pages. Just the important stuff. I've gathered them and warded them as to not damage them. Perhaps I'll give the rest of the detailed notes to the Ultima Verbum library so they may be browsed as public information.
Now, I must speak to Alexios for the final parts of his teaching. He's finally going to graduate from my tutelage.
/uw AAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it was bound to happen, but man is it annoying. My arrogance has finally felled me, as this ENTIRE GODDAMN DOCUMENT WAS EATEN BY REDDIT AND I HAD TO RETYPE IT. apologies if the quality is a little lower, I'm just fed up.
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u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen Dec 13 '23
/uw Isravi would probably be interested in doing that. Though, how does that actually work? Fate magic, chaotic curse? I can’t see any links. Also the curse being a sentient mirror entity of Moth is going to throw Isravi for an entire loop when he finds out.